I've been trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor to ask about this exact issue but their phone lines are impossible. Been calling for weeks about my tax documents and can never get through to an actual person. The automated system just hangs up on me after 20 minutes on hold.

Generally speaking, if you expect to owe $1,000 or more in taxes when you file your return, you should be making estimated quarterly payments. This applies to all income sources, including unemployment benefits. The safe harbor rule is that if you pay at least 90% of the current year's tax liability or 100% of last year's tax liability (whichever is smaller), you can avoid penalties.

If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor for any unemployment questions, I found this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that helps you get through to actual agents. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Really useful when you need to talk to someone about your claim status.

Your professor is right that some unemployment is normal. Frictional unemployment shows that workers have mobility and choices, which economists view positively. It's very different from the unemployment that results from recessions or when entire industries become obsolete.

I had such a nightmare trying to get through to someone at NYS Department of Labor to ask about my eligibility. Spent literally hours on hold just to get hung up on. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to a real person in like 15 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me so much frustration when I needed to verify my eligibility status.

basically if you didn't quit and you're looking for work you probably qualify. the wage requirement isn't that high - think you need like $2600 in your highest quarter or something. don't quote me on the exact number though

definitely file asap! i made the mistake of waiting like 2 weeks thinking i needed to 'settle in' to being unemployed first and totally screwed myself out of those benefits. you cant backdate claims in NY so every day you wait is money lost

same boat as OP, got let go last month and filed immediately. one thing they dont tell you is that even after you file youll probably have to wait for them to verify everything with your employer. took about 10 days before my weekly claims were actually payable. but yeah definitely dont wait to file the initial claim

The system is so confusing and they make it deliberately hard to understand! I've been fighting with NYS Department of Labor for months over a simple question about my benefit calculation. The website is terrible and the phone system hangs up on you constantly. Good luck getting a straight answer about anything.

One thing to remember is that even if you qualify, there's usually a one week waiting period before you can start collecting benefits. And make sure you file your weekly claims every week even if your initial claim is still being processed or you'll lose those weeks.