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The NYS Department of Labor definition also includes monetary eligibility requirements. You need to have earned a certain amount in wages during your base period, which is usually the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file your claim. If you don't meet the wage requirements, you won't qualify even if you meet all the other criteria.
THIS SYSTEM IS SO BACKWARDS!!! Why should someone who worked their whole life have to jump through hoops like this? The whole thing is designed to deny benefits to people who actually need them. Retirement should be a choice not forced by corporate greed!!!
Wait I'm confused - if you retire don't you get social security? Can you get both unemployment and social security at the same time? That doesn't sound right to me.
You can collect both Social Security and unemployment simultaneously in New York. Social Security doesn't count as disqualifying income for UI purposes. However, you still need to meet the able and available for work requirements.
I had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor by phone when I needed to check on my benefit amount calculation. Kept getting busy signals and when I did get through, I'd get disconnected. Someone on here mentioned claimyr.com which helped me actually reach an agent to verify my weekly benefit rate. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Made it so much easier to get my questions answered about the payment calculation.
I think I learned about this in college economics but forgot most of it lol. Sounds like its just background info about unemployment rates in general, not something that affects individual claims
The whole 'natural unemployment' thing is just economist speak for 'some people will always be out of work and that's normal.' Meanwhile those of us actually dealing with unemployment are just trying to pay our bills and get through the NYS Department of Labor bureaucracy! At least your weekly claims are processing smoothly - that's what really matters for keeping your benefits coming.
LongPeri
If you run into issues reaching NYS Department of Labor by phone (which is super common), I found this service called Claimyr that helped me get through to an actual agent. Check out claimyr.com - they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really saved me when I needed to check on my claim status and couldn't get through the regular phone lines.
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Lucas Schmidt
•interesting, never heard of that before. is it legit?
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LongPeri
•Yeah it's legit - they basically handle the waiting on hold part for you and then connect you when an agent picks up. Super helpful when you need to actually talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor.
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Oscar O'Neil
Just file already! You paid into unemployment insurance through your paychecks, so it's your money. Worst case scenario they say no, but if you were laid off from a regular job you'll almost definitely qualify.
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