No.
There are two different questions that you might be trying to ask. Either way, the answer is no.
A. If you are self-employed and then become unemployed, can you collect unemployed? Generally, no. To collect unemployment, you must have previously been employed as an employee of someone else or a business not owned by you, not self-employed. However, if you were employed as an employee of someone else or a business not owned by you, lost your job, were briefly self-employed, and then became unemployed, you might qualify.
B. Can you collect unemployment while you are self-employed? Not unless you report the amount that you make and how long you work. Even if you do report it, not if you are working full time in self-employment, and not if you are making a large amount of money in self-employment. If you are working part time, and you report the amount that you are making, and you report how much of the week (days or hours, depending on the state), you are working, then the state will calculate whether you are eligible to collect anything and how much you can collect. If you do not report the amount of money you made and how much you earned, then you must not collect anything.
If you are currently out of work due to no fault of your own, check with your state unemployment office to see if you are eligible for unemployment benefits. Even if you were considered self-employed when you last worked, you may be eligible. Here are some situations in which you would be able to get unemployment benefits even if you're self-employed.
Step
1
Talk to your state unemployment office to find out if you were misclassified as self-employed. Courts in California and Oregon have ruled that long-term contractors who were functioning similarly to at-will employees should be treated as such and are eligible for unemployment benefits.
Step
2
Apply for unemployment benefits if your business is incorporated and you can't find work. You should be eligible as long as the corporation paid unemployment insurance.
Step
3
Apply to your state unemployment office if you are not working and you live in a region affected by a disaster. If you lost your employment due to a disaster, you should be eligible to receive disaster unemployment assistance even if you are self-employed.
Step
4
If you are an ex-military service member who was self-employed before entering the service, apply at the state office of the state you reside in after leaving the service, regardless of where you lived before. You should be eligible for unemployment compensation for service members (UCX), a federal program administered by the states which functions similarly to state unemployment programs.
Step
5
Talk to your state unemployment office if you have started your own company since being laid off. You will most likely remain eligible as long as you meet the job-related eligibility requirements and your new business doesn't interfere with your availability to work and look for a job.
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as an independent contractor(self employed) there is no one paying into unemployment for you to collect
there is no report of earnings in the 'test' quarter to base unemployment on if you are self employed
All indications point to an answer of no. However, in this day and age the only way to be sure is contact your state's unemployment office and double check.
If you were W-2 wage earner and were laid off and are attempting to earn money through self-employment now, YES, depending on how much money you are earning. Can usually earn up to half the U I amount.
No - only if you paid unemployment insurance to the government
only if you paid into unemployment and your taxes.. i believe.
You 'Can', but don't get caught.....!!
only if you paid in to unemployment
I don't think so if you were not paying Fed and State unemployment taxes.
No. Only if you get laid off.