First, check with your local unemployment office to find out if your benefits have been extended. Extended Benefits are available to workers who have exhausted regular unemployment insurance benefits during periods of high unemployment. The basic Extended Benefits program provides up to 13 additional weeks of benefits when a State is experiencing high unemployment. Some States have also enacted a voluntary program to pay up to 7 additional weeks (20 weeks maximum) of Extended Benefits during periods of extremely high unemployment. When a State begins an Extended Benefit period, it notifies those who have received all of their regular benefits that they may be eligible for Extended Benefits. You may contact the State Unemployment Insurance agency to ask whether Extended Benefits are available.