In short, maybe.
At the outset, I just want to note that a coop or cooperative apartment qualifies for the capital gain exclusion if it is your main home and you are elligible to claim it. Getting to your question, generally, you need to have lived in the home 2 out of the 5 years prior to selling to get the full capital gain exclusion for your filing status (ie $250,000 for Single and $500,000 for Married Filing Joint).
There are exceptions which may enable you to take a partial exclusion. Unemployment in and of itself is not one of those exceptions. But moving for employment and unforeseen change in circumstances can qualify (becoming elligible for unemployment is an unforeseen circumstance IRS lists as an example) . Exception situations can be fact specific (in general you need to be living in the home when they occur and the sale typically needs to take place shortly after the circumstances arise). I do not know all of the details of your situation so I cannot state with certainty you'd qualify. I can only suggest that you make sure you have very good records to back up your position that you qualify for an exception if you claim one on your return - in case you are questioned or audited on that issue down the road.
Please take some time and review the following for more detailed information that you can apply to your specific situation (one is a TurboTax article and the other is the IRS Publication dealing with this issue):
Tax Aspects of Home Ownership: Selling a Home
IRS Publication 523
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Edited 7/16/25 3:17pm PST
