One important thing to remember: while collecting unemployment benefits, you must continue certifying weekly even if you've worked part-time hours. Report any earnings accurately - they'll reduce your weekly benefit amount but extend the duration of your claim (since you're not using the full benefit each week). This can effectively stretch your benefits beyond 26 calendar weeks, which might help bridge the gap while you're searching for full-time work in marketing.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! This cleared up a lot of my confusion. I'm going to start expanding my job search to healthcare and other industries with better prospects. I'll also check out the Career Services program and make sure I'm tracking my weeks carefully. One last question - does anyone know if freelance work counts against unemployment benefits? I might be able to pick up some marketing projects while I search for a permanent position.

wait i just realized somthing. do we have to pay taxes on the extra $150 weekly supplement that NY is giving this year too? or just on the regular benefit amount?

Just to add some helpful information: You can check what you've already had withheld by logging into your NY.gov account, going to Unemployment Services, and selecting 'Payment History.' This will show each payment with tax withholding amounts. If you're concerned about whether you've withheld enough, speaking with a tax professional now rather than waiting until tax season might be worthwhile.

i think i got the whole thing backward when i first filed lol. thought my benefit would be higher cuz i was looking at my yearly total not the quarter thing. was disappointed when the real amount came through

To summarize for anyone else with the same question: 1. The base period (full year) determines if you're eligible for benefits 2. Your weekly benefit amount is based on your highest quarter earnings within that base period 3. The formula is approximately 1/26 of your highest quarter earnings 4. The maximum weekly benefit in NY for 2025 is $650 5. If your determination seems wrong, you can request a reconsideration Hope this helps clear things up!

any update? did ur payment go thru yet?

Just received an update from a colleague who works with NYSDOL claims. They confirmed the current processing time for first-time part-time work reports is approximately 4-5 business days. You should see your claim update by early next week if you reported it earlier this week.

UPDATE: For anyone with this problem (since it's so common) - I called at exactly 8:00:00 am today and got through after only 3 tries!! They fixed my similar issue in literally 2 minutes. The trick is calling PRECISELY when they open. My payments are now processing!!

UPDATE: I got through!!!! I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned above and it actually worked - got me connected to an agent in about 30 minutes. The rep confirmed it was exactly what I thought - just needed a manual refresh on my account to clear the $0 payment glitch. My payments should process within 3 business days including all backpay. For anyone else facing this issue - it really is just a simple fix on their end, but you HAVE to talk to someone. The system won't fix it automatically no matter how long you wait. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!

One more suggestion based on my experience - after I used Claimyr to get through to a rep, I learned my claim was held up because I had accidentally answered YES to the question about being out of my authorized work area during one week's certification. I didn't even remember doing this! The agent was able to correct it on the spot. Double-check all your past certifications if possible to see if you might have made a similar mistake along the way.

I finally got through to someone!!! After 3+ hours on hold today. Turns out my claim was flagged for "additional wage verification" because I had worked in both NY and NJ last year. They never notified me about needing additional documents! The agent released the hold and said I should receive all my backpay within 3-5 business days. I'm cautiously optimistic but won't believe it until I see the money. Thank you all for your help and suggestions during this nightmare!

make sure ur bank info is right in the system! my friend had everything "fixed" but nobody told him his banking info got deleted when the fraud thing happened so the money was getting sent to a closed account or something

Just to update everyone - my payment actually came through yesterday morning! It took exactly 4 business days after they fixed the fraud flag. All 12 weeks of back payments came at once, which was a huge relief. Thanks to everyone who offered advice!

Have you tried contacting your state representative? My cousin was in a similar situation and after 3 months of getting nowhere, she contacted her state assembly member's office. They have special liaisons who can escalate cases with NYSDOL. She had her issue resolved within 2 weeks after the representative's office got involved.

update us when u get ur money! been waitng 2 months myself

One last thing to try: the NYSDOL has a Twitter account (@NYSLabor) where they sometimes respond to people having issues. Some folks have had success sending them a direct message with their contact info (never include your SSN or claim ID in public tweets). Worth a shot while pursuing the other avenues mentioned.

Quick update: I actually got mine resolved finally. Called using that service I mentioned, got through to someone who told me my claim had been stuck because they needed proof I'd been searching for work, but the notification never got sent to me due to a "system error." Once I uploaded my job search records, my claim was approved within a week and I got all my backpay. The whole thing could have been resolved in 5 minutes if I could have just gotten someone on the phone months ago. The system is beyond broken.

Update: I finally got through to someone at the IRS! You all were right - it was an adjustment to my 2024 taxes related to the unemployment benefits I received last year. Apparently there was some change in how they calculate the taxes on those benefits, and I overpaid. Thanks everyone for your help! For anyone else seeing these mysterious deposits, definitely check your tax transcript online or try calling the IRS to confirm what it's for.

I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned above and got through in about 30 minutes! Otherwise I think I would still be trying. The agent was really helpful and confirmed it was exactly what you all suggested - a tax adjustment for my unemployment benefits from 2024.