Missouri Unemployment Benefits 2026

To qualify for unemployment benefits in Missouri, individuals must meet both monetary and non-monetary eligibility requirements. The Division of Employment Security evaluates each claim to determine whether the claimant has sufficient work history, earned adequate wages, and meets ongoing eligibility criteria.

Employment Status Requirements

Missouri unemployment benefits are available only to workers who performed covered employment during the base period. Most private sector jobs, government positions, and nonprofit organizations are covered under the state’s unemployment insurance program.

Covered employment definition:

According to Missouri Revised Statutes § 288.034, covered employment includes service performed for wages under any contract of hire, written or oral, express or implied. This encompasses most employer-employee relationships where the employer has control over the work performed and pays remuneration for those services.

Covered categories:

Most employment in Missouri is covered, including:

• Private sector employees
• State and local government workers
• Federal civilian employees (under special federal programs)
• Employees of nonprofit organizations meeting size requirements
• Most corporate officers providing services for wages

Excluded categories:

The following types of work are generally not covered by Missouri unemployment insurance:

• Independent contractors (unless misclassified)
• Self-employed individuals
• Certain agricultural workers earning below statutory thresholds
• Domestic workers in private homes earning below quarterly minimum
• Elected officials
• Students working for educational institutions while enrolled and regularly attending classes
• Real estate agents and insurance agents paid solely by commission
• Certain family employment situations

Source: Missouri Revised Statutes § 288.034 (employment definitions) and § 288.036 (exclusions)

Earnings and Work History Requirements

Base Period Definition

Missouri determines eligibility using wages earned during a specific timeframe called the base period. The base period consists of the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before filing the unemployment claim.

Calendar quarters:

• Quarter 1: January 1 – March 31
• Quarter 2: April 1 – June 30
• Quarter 3: July 1 – September 30
• Quarter 4: October 1 – December 31

Example: Claim filed in January 2026

• Base period: October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025 (Q4 2024 through Q3 2025)

Base periods always begin on the first Sunday in January, April, July, and October. Any days prior to the first Sunday date are part of the prior base period.

Source: Missouri Revised Statutes § 288.036; Missouri Division of Employment Security base period guidance

Minimum Monetary Requirements

Missouri requires claimants to meet specific wage thresholds during the base period to establish monetary eligibility.

Standard qualification requirements:

To qualify for unemployment benefits in Missouri, claimants must meet ALL of the following wage requirements:

1. Total base period wages: Minimum of $2,250 earned from covered employment
2. High quarter wages: At least $1,500 in the highest earning quarter
3. Remaining quarters: At least $750 in the base period quarters other than the high quarter
4. Wage ratio: Total base period wages must equal at least 1.5 times the highest quarter wages

Alternative qualification method:

Alternatively, claimants may qualify by earning at least $19,500 (equal to 1.5 times Missouri’s taxable wage base) during two of the four base period quarters.

Alternative base period:

Missouri does not currently provide an alternative base period using more recent wages for claimants who fail to qualify under the standard base period.

Benefit calculator: The Division of Employment Security provides an online benefit calculator at https://labor.mo.gov/des/unemployed-workers/benefits-calculator that offers estimates based on wage information entered. The calculator provides estimates only and does not guarantee benefit amounts or eligibility.

Source: Missouri Revised Statutes § 288.036 (monetary eligibility); Missouri Division of Employment Security eligibility guidance
Information current as of January 28, 2026

Separation From Employment Requirements

The reason for job separation determines whether a claimant qualifies for unemployment benefits. Missouri law distinguishes between qualifying separations, which make workers eligible for benefits, and disqualifying separations, which result in denial or disqualification.

Qualifying Separations

The following types of job separation generally qualify for unemployment benefits in Missouri:

No-fault separations:

• Layoff due to lack of work
• Business closure or downsizing
• Position elimination
• Reduction in hours or change from full-time to part-time
• Temporary layoff with no definite recall date
• End of seasonal employment
• Discharge not due to misconduct (performance issues, poor fit)

Good cause separations:

Workers who voluntarily quit may qualify for benefits if they left for good cause attributable to the work or the employer. Missouri recognizes certain circumstances as good cause for leaving employment, though the burden is on the claimant to prove good cause existed.

Source: Missouri Revised Statutes § 288.050 (eligibility and disqualifications)

Disqualifying Separations

Missouri law provides for disqualification from benefits when unemployment results from specific causes related to the claimant’s own actions.

1. Voluntary quit without good cause

Workers who voluntarily leave employment without good cause attributable to the work or employer are disqualified from receiving benefits until they return to work and earn wages equal to at least 10 times their weekly benefit amount in covered employment.

Good cause defined: Missouri does not provide a comprehensive statutory definition of good cause, leaving interpretation to administrative adjudication and case law. Generally, good cause requires a real, substantial, and compelling reason related to the work itself or the employer’s actions that would cause a reasonable person to leave employment.

Examples of good cause recognized in Missouri:

• Unsafe or unhealthy working conditions
• Significant change in terms of employment (substantial pay cut, significant reduction in hours)
• Harassment or hostile work environment when employer fails to address
• Constructive discharge where employer makes conditions so intolerable that resignation is forced

Quitting unsuitable new work: Missouri law provides that if a claimant takes a new job and quits within 28 days because it was unsuitable work under Missouri Employment Security Law, the claimant may still be eligible for benefits based on prior employment.

Disqualification period: Until claimant earns wages equal to at least 10 times the weekly benefit amount in covered employment

2. Discharge for misconduct

Workers discharged for misconduct connected with work are disqualified from receiving benefits until they return to work and earn wages equal to at least 6 times their weekly benefit amount in covered employment.

Misconduct defined:

Missouri Revised Statutes § 288.030.1(23) defines misconduct as:

“A claimant shall be deemed to have been discharged for misconduct connected with the claimant’s work within the meaning of subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of section 288.050 if, after an investigation and report by a deputy, the division finds that the claimant has been discharged for:

• (a) Conduct or a failure to act, connected with the claimant’s work, which shows a knowing disregard for the employer’s interests;
• (b) A violation of a known company rule;
• (c) Misconduct involving reckless indifference to or willful violation of the employer’s standards of behavior which the employer has a right to expect;
• (d) Chronic absenteeism or tardiness in deliberate violation of a known policy of the employer or one or more unapproved absences following a written reprimand or warning relating to more than one unapproved absence.”

What is not misconduct: Poor performance, mistakes, errors in judgment, inability to meet job requirements, and isolated incidents without warnings generally do not constitute misconduct. The employer must prove the claimant’s actions meet the statutory definition.

Multiple disqualifications: If a claimant is disqualified on a subsequent discharge for misconduct, the claimant must earn wages equal to 6 times the weekly benefit amount for each disqualification.

Disqualification period: Until claimant earns wages equal to at least 6 times the weekly benefit amount in covered employment for each misconduct disqualification

3. Refusal of suitable work

Claimants who refuse suitable work offers without good cause are disqualified from receiving benefits. Whether work is suitable depends on various factors including the claimant’s skills, experience, prior earnings, length of unemployment, and local labor market conditions.

Suitable work factors:

• Degree of risk to health, safety, and morals
• Physical fitness and prior training
• Prior experience and earnings
• Length of unemployment
• Prospects for securing local work in customary occupation
• Distance of available work from residence

Work is generally not considered suitable if it requires joining a company union or resigning from a bona fide labor organization, or if the position is available due to a labor dispute.

Disqualification period: Determined based on circumstances of refusal

4. Labor dispute disqualification

Missouri law provides for disqualification if unemployment is due to a labor dispute at the facility where the claimant was employed. This disqualification lasts for the duration of the labor dispute.

Source: Missouri Revised Statutes § 288.050 (disqualifications); § 288.030.1(23) (misconduct definition)
Official statute text: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=288.050