Here in NM, where I was unemployed for 4 months back in 2001, it worked this way: Once you began withdrawing unemployment you could do so for 6 months over a 1 year period. So you could withdraw unemployment for 3 months, work for 6 months, and still at the end of that job be able to withdraw the rest of the 3 months of unemployment. I think they might have extended that 1 year period of time, though, since I was in the system.

I'd recommend just going down to your local Dep. of Labor office and checking it out. As Jim said, they're really there to help. When I went through the orientation and everything, I barely had to say a word. I just had to fill out some paperwork, attend a 2-hour seminar on how to file for checks and how to get back into the labor force, and then I was on my way. I never even got audited. And from the orientation I took, it seemed as though you'd have to have been fired for complete incompetence to not qualify. They illustrated incompetence with a skit of a guy literally going to work with his waders on and pole to go fishing and trying to convince his boss he was sick.

The most valuable advice I think I could offer would be to ENJOY unemployment. As stressful as it might seem right now, you'll make it through it just fine. I seriously was stressed when I was laid off. But as I look back, those were really some of the most stress-free, happy times of my life.

- trs