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I was making $52k and my weekly benefit came out to $480, so yeah it's pretty close to 50%. The NYS Department of Labor calculation looks at your highest earning quarter during the base period and divides by 26. Just make sure you report any part-time work accurately when you file your weekly claims or you could get hit with an overpayment later.
Both policies were definitely responses to economic hardship but they serve different purposes. Minimum wage sets a floor for what employers must pay, while unemployment insurance provides temporary income replacement when you lose your job. Your UI benefits depend on your work history, not current minimum wage rates.
The whole system is just designed to keep working people down! They make it impossible to understand whether you qualify and then when you do get benefits it's barely enough to survive on anyway.
ugh the whole system is such a mess regardless of what the unemployment rate is!! I've been dealing with NYS Department of Labor for months over an overpayment issue and they never return calls or emails. The percentage might be low but that doesn't mean they're any more helpful to actual people trying to navigate this bureaucratic nightmare
Just want to add that even if unemployment rates are lower, you still have the same rights to benefits if you qualify. Make sure you're continuing to file weekly claims and document your job search activities. The adjudication process can be slow but they have to follow the same rules regardless of economic conditions.
Other things that can disqualify you: not registering for work search within the required timeframe, failing to complete your weekly job search activities, turning down job offers that NYS Department of Labor considers suitable, and not reporting income from part-time work. Also if you're not a US citizen or authorized to work, or if you're receiving certain other benefits. The system is designed to catch everything!
Been through this whole mess twice now and honestly the unemployment system is rigged against workers. They'll find ANY excuse to deny your claim. Even if you have legitimate reasons for leaving they make you jump through hoops for months while you're struggling to pay bills. The adjudication process is deliberately slow and confusing.
Sofia Morales
honestly the whole system is set up to fail people like us. when your benefits run out theyre basically like good luck figure it out yourself. meanwhile cost of living keeps going up but somehow we're supposed to just magically find jobs that dont exist
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Dmitry Popov
•I feel this so much. Been searching for 8 months now and it's exhausting.
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Giovanni Mancini
To answer your earlier question about One-Stop centers - they're part of the workforce development system that works with NYS Department of Labor but they're separate locations. You can find your local center through the NY.gov website. They offer job placement services, skills training, and sometimes emergency assistance programs.
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