You are able to claim unemployment only if your employer terminates your employment (fired, laid off, cutbacks, etc). A voluntary resignation from a job does not qualify you for benefits though unemployment. If you are terminated from your job and the state determines that you acted in "misconduct" then your unemployment benefits might be denied. Typical examples of misconduct are job abandonment (not showing up to work), sleeping on the job, fighting on the job, theft, repeated deficiencies or violations of company policies. Employers pay unemployment insurance to the state in which the business operates. A business is assigned a rate each year based upon how many claims are paid out, economic times of the state, etc (kind of like car insurance – the more claims you have the Higher your rate). I would certainly advise to not quit your job until you find another one. Spend a week of vacation out in Pennsylvania, interview for some positions, see what the schools and neighborhoods are like, visit with the local chamber of commerce. In our current economic situation it would not be advisable to quit your job until you have secured new employment.