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The maximum amount you may collect in unemployment benefits each week through the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training is going up.

Starting next month, the maximum for someone without dependents will be $546 a week, up from the current $528 a week. That represents an increase of $18 a week, or about 3.4 percent.

The maximum for someone with five or more dependents will be $682 a week, up from the current $660 a week -- an increase of $22 a week, or about 3.3 percent.

In general, the new maximum amounts will apply to those who lose their jobs and qualify for unemployment benefits on or after July 1, said Raymond A. Filippone, the agency's assistant director who oversees unemployment insurance.

Those who are now collecting benefits will continue to receive amounts calculated under the current system, Filippone said in an interview at the agency's headquarters in Cranston.

About 33,800 people were collecting some type of unemployment benefit through the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training for the week ended June 6, Filippone said. Rhode Island's unemployment rate is 11.1 percent.

The agency automatically raises the maximum benefit amount based on increases in average weekly wages, agency spokeswoman Laura Hart said.

 Tags  Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training unemploymenat benefits unemployment insurance

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