In these hard times, travelers are experiencing longer downtime periods between contracts. It comes as a surprise to many travelers that you are automatically eligible to receive unemployment benefits at the end of a contract where no renewal is offered. Benefits can range over $600 per week but are more typically in the $300 to $400 range for most travelers and most states. This is enough to help keep you eating should your job search take unexpectedly long. Currently, many states are adding a small weekly amount of $25 from the recent federal stimulus bill and have extended the total weeks of benefit eligibility.