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The whole unemployment classification system is just academic nonsense anyway! Whether you call it cyclical or structural or whatever, we're all just trying to pay our bills while looking for work. NYS Department of Labor should focus on getting people their money faster instead of making us jump through hoops with job search requirements and weekly certifications.
Also make sure you're eligible! You need to have worked and earned enough wages in your base period, be unemployed through no fault of your own, and be able and available for work. Since you worked at a restaurant you should be fine but just wanted to mention it.
The whole system is such a mess tbh. I filed in October and it took them 6 WEEKS to process my claim because of some stupid adjudication issue they never explained properly. Good luck dealing with their website crashes and busy phone lines!
If you're having trouble reaching someone at NYS Department of Labor to clarify the requirements, I used a service called Claimyr that helped me get through to an actual agent. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows exactly how it works. It was really helpful when I needed to verify my job search requirements and make sure I wasn't going to lose my benefits over a misunderstanding.
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor for questions about your claim or benefits, I recently discovered this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me actually reach a real person. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. I was stuck trying to call for weeks about an adjudication issue and this got me through in like 20 minutes. Might help if you need to talk to someone about your specific situation.
Don't forget about the impact on your family relationships too. The stress affects everyone in the household and kids pick up on the tension even when you try to hide it. My spouse has been supportive but I can tell they're worried about our future and it creates this underlying anxiety in our home.
Yara Assad
AI taking jobs is the new normal unfortunately. At least you can collect while you figure things out. I've been on unemployment twice in the past three years because of automation and downsizing. The system isn't really designed for this kind of mass displacement but what can you do.
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Olivia Clark
•Wait, does this mean my job could be next?? I work in accounting and I keep hearing about AI doing taxes and bookkeeping. Should I be worried about my position? How do I even prepare for something like this?
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Javier Morales
Same thing happened to my cousin in customer service last year, they replaced half the call center with chatbots. She managed to find something else eventually but it took like 6 months. Just keep doing your weekly certifications and job searches, that's all you can really do right now.
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