You're leaving out some bits. First, you can only receive it for a maximum period of one year (last time I looked) and that is pro-rated by how long you had paid premiums into the system while working, so it could be less than a year. And you quoted the maximum payout rate, which not everyone receives as it is determined by how much you paid in. The way you phrased it made it sound like a gift, whereas it's an insurance payout.
In America, the employer pays the insurance premiums. How much the employer pays depends on their record of laying people off. The more they do that, the higher their premiums. Employees pay nothing for unemployment insurance. If an employee gets fired for "cause", then they might not get unemployment insurance. It has to be a layoff because the company doesn't want you anymore either because they don't need you or because they think you aren't qualified or doing the job right. However, if you show up drunk all the time, punch the boss in the nose, or worse some customer, and are fired for cause, then the company will object to unemployment payments to keep their premiums down and there could be a hearing to determine who's right.
