Contract employees are not eligible for unemployment.
An employer is not responsible for your unemployment benefits if you are an independent contractor. While employees are always eligible for unemployment benefits if they are laid off, an independent contractor will only be eligible if they pay separately into the state unemployment fund.
Which explains 75% of the job listings
That makes sense.
Unless of course if they'd been paying for the benefit all this time to the state so that they'd be eligible for the 'free money' when they'd be unemployed, then they'd be able to get back part of what they put in. Let's face it. This entire state mandated 'free unemployment insurance' that's 'paid for by the employer' is a scam.