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the amount varies a lot. my friend gets like $450 but i only get $280 even though we made similar money. depends on when you worked and how much you made in specific quarters i think
To clarify the base period calculation - NYS Department of Labor uses your highest quarter earnings to determine your weekly benefit rate, which is roughly 1/26th of that amount. There's also a minimum ($124/week) and maximum ($504/week for 2025). If you worked multiple jobs, they'll combine all your covered wages from different employers during your base period.
ok that makes more sense. so if my highest quarter was like $15,000 i'd get around $575 per week? but you said max is $504 so i'd get the max?
If you're having trouble explaining this to people or need to contact the NYS Department of Labor for any reason, I found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you actually get through to agents when the phone lines are constantly busy. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really helpful when you need to talk to someone about your claim details.
This whole system is confusing AF honestly. Like why cant they just make it simple and consistent across all states??
The key thing to remember is that unemployment insurance follows your work location, not your residence. Since your employer has been paying unemployment insurance taxes to New York State, that's where your benefits would come from if needed. Keep your pay stubs showing the NY tax withholdings as they'll be helpful documentation if you ever need to file a claim with NYS Department of Labor.
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO DENY PEOPLE!! They make the rules so complicated on purpose. I know people who worked for YEARS and still got denied for ridiculous reasons. Don't give up though - you can appeal their decision.
Fatima Al-Farsi
just make sure you apply right away if it happens!! you can file online through my.ny.gov and it's pretty straightforward. don't wait around because there's a waiting period anyway
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Mei Liu
•Good point about applying right away. How long is the waiting period usually?
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Dylan Cooper
ugh the whole system is so stressful when you're already dealing with losing your job. I went through this same thing and it took forever to get answers. Just document everything with your employer - any emails, performance reviews, anything that shows you weren't doing anything wrong on purpose.
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