I have worked in Illinois and Ohio this year and was told I can claim umemployment in any of the 50 states that I wanted to. They guy that told me this has worked in Michigan and Ohio and has been using Massachusetts since they pay the most. Can I really pick any state?

I think you can file a claim from the state that you are a resident in. Payments will come from the state in which you last worked and I believe you have to file periodic reports with the state where you last worked also.

You may file in the state you are living in, so if you want to move somewhere to file, go for it.

But they will just go back to the state where you had your earnings and see how many quarters you are qualified for and you are paid based on the unemploymnet of the states you have worked on a set formula. The state you are living in merely handles the filding and the paper work