Unemployment benefits can be a lifesaver when you find yourself out of work through no fault of your own, providing you with at least some income to put toward your living expenses, usually about half of what you were earning. But unemployment insurance is a joint program between the federal government and individual states, so it's riddled with qualifying rules you must meet before you can get your hands on that money.
Unfortunately, working for cash might disqualify you, but it can depend on your employer.
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The first immutable rule is that you must work for some form of compensation, and there has to be a record of it. The amount of your benefits depends on how much you earned while you were working. This can be tricky if your employer pays you in cash, which typically means "under the table." Taxes might not be withheld from your pay, and deductions for unemployment insurance most likely aren't taken, either. You – and your employer – must pay into state and federal unemployment programs for you to be covered.
