Title: Start a business on unemployment: state-by-state calculator (2026) > Can you keep unemployment while you start a business? Check your state, and see what Self-Employment Assistance adds up to in New York, Oregon, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Washington. Source: https://pontia.xyz/us/self-employment-assistance-calculator/ Checked: 25 September 2026 Free · official rates · checked September 25, 2026 # Start a business on unemployment: what your state allows Pick your state to see whether you can keep your weekly benefit while you build, what the job-search rule is, and what Self-Employment Assistance adds up to where it runs. Then turn it into a plan. ## Self-Employment Assistance, in plain English Federal law lets each state choose to run **Self-Employment Assistance (SEA)**. Where it runs, you get your normal weekly unemployment benefit while you work full time on a new business. The weekly work search is waived, and in most SEA states your business income isn’t deducted. You apply first, get accepted in writing, and do the training. Everywhere else, unemployment is for people looking for work. You can still use the time to plan, research and line up customers, while you keep up your weekly job search. Make every month of your support count Budgets built from your numbers, a clear plan, and the tools to build it. Free. 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A few states run Self-Employment Assistance, which lets you keep your weekly benefit while you start a business full time, with no work search. Which states have Self-Employment Assistance?+ In 2026: New York, Oregon, Mississippi and New Hampshire, plus a Washington program that works differently (business earnings are deducted). Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont have laws but no active program we could find, and Maine repealed its law in 2025. How much is Self-Employment Assistance?+ The same as your weekly unemployment benefit, for the weeks you have left. You get no start-up money from the program itself, but in most SEA states the business income you earn is not deducted. What do I have to do to get it?+ Apply before you start the business, and keep searching for work until you are accepted in writing. Programs require entrepreneurial training and business counseling, and some need a minimum number of weeks left (13 in New York, 18 in New Hampshire). Sources, checked September 25, 2026 - [DOL: Self-Employment Assistance fact sheet](https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/pdf/Factsheet_SEA.pdf) - [26 U.S.C. 3306(t): Self-Employment Assistance programs](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/3306) - [New York SEAP](https://dol.ny.gov/SEAP) - [Oregon Self-Employment Assistance](https://unemployment.oregon.gov/self-employment) - [Mississippi SEAP](https://mdes.ms.gov/i-need-a-job/job-searching-resources/self-employment-assistance-program/) - [Washington SEAP](https://esd.wa.gov/jobs-and-training/job-training-support/self-employment-assistance-program-seap) - [New Hampshire RSA 282-A:31-h](https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXIII/282-A/282-A-31-h.htm) Estimate and guidance only. Estimate and guidance only. Confirm with your benefit office, the official website or an adviser. Rules change, and your situation changes the outcome. Not a government service. Not financial, tax or legal advice. ## Your start-up support is a head start. Use it well. Plan your money, pick what you’ll build, and get the tools to build it. Free, and nobody sees your plan but you. [Sign up free](https://pontia.xyz/us/start?scheme=us-ui-searching&status=have&from=us-calculator-end) Free forever · No card · No hidden charges Cite this page "Start a business on unemployment: state-by-state calculator (2026)", Pontia, https://pontia.xyz/us/self-employment-assistance-calculator/ (updated September 25, 2026) ## Related guides and tools - [Start your business without risking your benefits](https://pontia.xyz/us/) - [Your unemployment work search log, done in minutes](https://pontia.xyz/us/unemployment-work-search-log/) - [Between school and work? Build something that’s yours.](https://pontia.xyz/us/young-people/) - [US Unemployment Work Search Index 2026](https://pontia.xyz/us/datasets/us-work-search-index/) - [US federal support for starting a business in figures, 2026](https://pontia.xyz/us/datasets/us-startup-support/) - [Unemployment insurance while you look for work vs Self-Employment Assistance Program (SEAP), New York](https://pontia.xyz/us/compare/ui-searching-vs-sea-ny/) - [Unemployment insurance while you look for work vs Self-Employment Assistance, Oregon](https://pontia.xyz/us/compare/ui-searching-vs-sea-or/) - [Unemployment insurance while you look for work vs Self-Employment Assistance Program, Mississippi](https://pontia.xyz/us/compare/ui-searching-vs-sea-ms/) - [Unemployment insurance while you look for work vs Pathway to Work (self-employment), New Hampshire](https://pontia.xyz/us/compare/ui-searching-vs-sea-nh/) --- Pontia is free and independent. 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