There are many complex areas within the Unemployment Insurance Program.
We have provided links to information that we hope will help you better understand the program and possibly answer some of the questions you may have relating to your Unemployment Insurance claim.

Effective August 7, 2001, the amount of federal income tax an individual my elect withheld from UI benefits changed from 15% to 10% of the weekly benefit amount.

         About Unemployment Insurance (UI)
         Benefit Tax Appeals
         Calculate Your Weekly UI Benefits
         Filing A Claim Big Sandy Area    
         Frequently Asked Questions 
         Interactive Voice Response System (IVR) File UI Claims by Telephone
           IVR Telephone Number
         North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
         Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)
         Unemployment Rates Big Sandy Area
         

About the Unemployment Insurance Program

To file a claim for benefits, simply visit one of the local OET Offices. Although you may file a claim at any office in the state, certain counties are best served by this office. Once you have filed a claim, an eligibility determination will be made and mailed to you. If you or your previous employer believe this determination is in error, an appeal may be filed. Once the claim is established, obtaining payments from it is now simplified by the Interactive Voice Response system (often referred to as the IVR). Further improvements to the program are currently in progress as part of the Kentucky Electronic Workplace for Employment Services (KEWES) initiative.

Filing a Claim in the Big Sandy Area

When filing your claim you will need to bring identification, preferably a picture ID. You will also need to know your former employer’s address and the dates you worked for each employer. Mondays and Tuesdays are extremely high volume days for filing unemployment insurance claims. You may find it more convenient or preferable to wait until later in the week to file your claim. Once you have filed your initial claim, you may use the Interactive Voice Response System to claim benefits. 

Unemployment Insurance claims may be filed at the locations listed below Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 4:30pm.

North American Free Trade Agreement
and The Trade Adjustment Assistance Act

If the loss of your job was due primarily to increased imports you may also be eligible for benefits or training under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act or the North American Free Trade Agreement. In times of very high unemployment rates, when the national unemployment reaches 10% or above, extended benefits may also be available to individuals who use up all of their regular unemployment insurance benefits without locating a job.  At the Pikeville Office of Employment and Training office you may contact either 
Margie Johnson or Christine Settles with questions or inquiries. In Kentucky you may contact Edna Mathews TAA, NAFTA/TAA Coordinator at 502-564-7456 or Melissa Wiley at 502-564-7976. They may also be reached by mail or fax at the following:

Office of Employment and Training
2nd Floor West, CHR Building
275 East Main Street
Frankfort, KY  40621
Fax: (502) 564-7799

If you are a Dislocated Worker you will find useful information at the following web sites: 

   Workers:   http://www.doleta.gov/layoff/workers01.asp
Employers:   http://www.doleta.gov/layoff/employers01.asp

Frequently Asked Questions

The Unemployment Insurance Program is complex and may be difficult to understand, therefore, answers to many common questions are available and are grouped by the most frequently asked employer questions and the most frequently asked worker questions. 

 Filing for Benefits by Telephone

The Interactive Voice Response System offers the public a quick and easy way to make a claim as well as to check the payment status of their claim. The toll free telephone number for the Interactive Voice Response System, often referred to as the IVR, is 1-866-291-2926.  Every 6-10 weeks the system will advise you that it is time to come into the office for a periodic interview. When this occurs please bring the claim card that you received with your last Unemployment Insurance check.

         Unemployment Rates
         Big Sandy Area:  
         Preliminary February 2003 Rates
               Comparison to January 2003 Rates

Listed in the chart below are the most current labor force estimates issued 
for the Big Sandy Area Development District. Counties with an asterisk and highlighted in red are those that fall under the administrative responsibility
of the Pikeville Department for Employment Services or is a county for
which they provide specific services within that county.