Unemployment is a system of compulsory state funded insurance. If you paid into it, either by force or freely you are entitled to its benefits. Think of it as a form of malicious compliance.

Ah, just noticed that CBJ beat me to quoting Rand's article. No problem, it bears repeating.
--Michael

This is an excellent question, one which Rand herself answered in The Objectivist, Vol 5, # 6, June, 1966. From her article, "The Question of Scholarships: "Since there is no such thing as the right of some men to vote away the rights of others, and no such thing as the right of the government to seize the property of some men for the unearned benefit of others—the advocates and supporters of the welfare state are morally guilty of robbing their opponents, and the fact that the robbery is legalized makes it morally worse, not better. The victims do not have to add self-inflicted martyrdom to the injury done to them by others; they do not have to let the looters profit doubly, by letting them distribute the money exclusively to the parasites who clamored for it. Whenever the welfare-state laws offer them some small restitution, the victims should take it . . . .

The same moral principles and considerations apply to the issue of accepting social security, unemployment insurance or other payments of that kind. It is obvious, in such cases, that a man receives his own money which was taken from him by force, directly and specifically, without his consent, against his own choice. Those who advocated such laws are morally guilty, since they assumed the “right” to force employers and unwilling co-workers. But the victims, who opposed such laws, have a clear right to any refund of their own money—and they would not advance the cause of freedom if they left their money, unclaimed, for the benefit of the welfare-state administration."

It is not the proper role of Govt. to provide unemployment benefits; and if one approves of that and other entitlements, he is not worthy of it. But those who agree with me and are forced to pay into the unemployment fund, then it is proper to collect it. Same for Social Security.