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When you’ve lost your job
For anyone in the United States who has lost a job, is about to, or is helping someone who has. Filing for unemployment. Keeping health coverage, and the 60-day clock on it. Your last paycheck and severance. Layoff notice. What to do if it wasn’t fair. Free help finding work. Food and bills in the meantime. And the words to say when you call. One thing at a time.
Right now
- Can’t see a way through tonight? Call or text 988, at any hour. The 988 Lifeline says it is there for emotional distress, or if you just need someone to talk to. In danger: 911.
- File for unemployment as soon as you can. The Department of Labor says to contact your state’s program as soon as possible after becoming unemployed, and that the first payment generally takes two to three weeks.
- Losing health insurance? HealthCare.gov says you can enroll in a Marketplace plan within 60 days of losing job-based coverage: 1-800-318-2596.
- Questions about a job loss or layoff? The Department of Labor’s toll-free line: 1-877-872-5627.
More help
- Bills you can’t pay? When the money runs out.
- Need food? When you need food.
- Rent, or nowhere to stay? When you need a place to stay.
- Need a doctor and can’t pay? When you need a doctor and can’t pay.
- Need a lawyer and can’t pay? When you need a lawyer and can’t pay.
- Looking for work with a record? Fair chance job kit.
- Health keeps you from working? Applying for disability benefits.
- A message or job offer that seems off? Is this a scam?
- All our free tools and Get help now.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). The facts come from the U.S. Department of Labor and its CareerOneStop site, USAGov, HealthCare.gov, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Internal Revenue Service and the 988 Lifeline. The phone numbers, hours and statements were read on their own pages on October 1, 2026. Things change, and every state runs its own unemployment program, so check before you rely on any of them. Where we did not read something, such as how much a state pays and for how long, what happens if you quit or were fired, how to appeal a denial, state rules on final pay, or severance agreements, the page says so and does not guess. A few lines are our own suggestions, and the page marks them as ours. This page saves nothing: no account, no cookies, nothing you tick is stored or sent, and no analytics (privacy). Scarlet Beast is not a law firm or an employment agency, is not part of any government agency, and takes no money from anyone named here. Found a mistake? Email [email protected].