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It will be a federal claim, which means it will take a little time to get set up, but yes, you should, if you have enough wages in the appropriate quarters to set up monetarily, qualify for a claim, and be able to draw unemployment benefits from that claim for any week that they do not have work for you that you are fully able and available to do. I'm not sure I understand the situation of "making myself available" that you mention, but your eligibility monetarily will depend on the wages you have in covered quarters going back about the last 18 months, and the fact that they do not have work available to you so that you are out of work through no fault of your own. Don't act as though this was signing up for welfare. Unemployment benefits are not based on your income or your need for them, they will ask no income questions, and it's not something you should be ashamed to do. There is no downside to filing the claim, you either will or will not be able to draw benefits.