Starting a business on unemployment in Wisconsin

Self-Employment Assistance in Wisconsin

No. Wisconsin doesn’t run Self-Employment Assistance, so unemployment is for people looking for work.

How self-employment affects your benefit

You must answer 'yes' to being self-employed if you run your own business, and you can be disqualified if it stops you being able, available and looking for suitable work. Self-employment income is not wages and is not deducted from benefits, but the 32-hour weekly work limit and the 4-a-week work search still apply.

Subtract $30 from gross income and deduct 67% of the rest from your weekly benefit rate (payments under $5 are not made); no payment in a week with 32+ hours of work or paid leave.

Your weekly job search

At least four valid work search actions each week (extras don't carry over), reported on the weekly claim with enough detail to verify and proof kept for one year. You must register with Job Center of Wisconsin within 14 days if told to.

Pontia keeps your job-search record for you and links to Job Center of Wisconsin (JCW), so your plan and your search run side by side.

Other help in Wisconsin

• Wisconsin DWD Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR): DVR's Self-Employment Business Startup Toolkit V3.0 (Sept 2024) sets a nine-step process for start-ups with total start-up costs of $18,000 or less, where the consumer owns at least 51% (https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dvr/policy-guidance/toolkits-guides-manuals/self-employment-toolkit-v3.htm).
• Medicaid: Wisconsin did not expand Medicaid, so the new federal work requirement for expansion adults does not apply here. New BadgerCare Plus applicants from 1 Jan 2027 and most current members from their renewal starting March 2027 (affects some adults 19-64 without children under 19 at home).
• SBA Microloans of up to $50,000, and free advice from your local SBDC and SCORE mentors.
• On SSI or SSDI: PASS and the SSDI trial work period let you test a business.

Questions