


Ask the community...
The whole system is broken honestly. I waited 7 weeks last year and when I finally got through to someone they told me my claim was held up because they needed to verify my identity, but I never got any notice asking for documents. Make sure you check your online account AND your mail regularly because sometimes they send requests that aren't obvious.
My sister just got approved last month and it took exactly 3 weeks from filing to first payment. She also had a layoff situation so maybe that helps with timing?
UGH the whole system is so stressful! I've been waiting 4 weeks now and still nothing. How are we supposed to pay bills while waiting for them to make up their minds? The uncertainty is killing me more than the actual unemployment.
yeah they're different but the whole unemployment system is a mess anyway. took me 8 weeks to get my first payment even though i did everything right. NYS Department of Labor keeps changing their rules and nobody knows what's going on
Just remember you have to pay taxes on unemployment benefits! A lot of people forget that and get surprised at tax time. You can have taxes withheld from your weekly payments or pay quarterly.
Amara Eze
Yeah frictional unemployment is the most common type. Just make sure you're keeping detailed records of your job search activities for NYS Department of Labor. They can ask for proof during any review or audit of your claim.
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Giovanni Greco
•This happened to me last year - took 3 months to find something but my claim was fine the whole time
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Fatima Al-Farsi
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor agents to ask questions about your claim status, I had good luck using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They have a service that helps you actually reach a real person instead of sitting on hold forever. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really helped when I needed to clarify some job search requirement questions.
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Dylan Wright
•Interesting, never heard of that service before. Might be worth checking out since I can never get through to anyone.
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