


Ask the community...
I've been waiting 3 weeks just to get my monetary determination! The whole process is so slow and when you call NYS Department of Labor you can never get through to an actual person. It's frustrating when you need to know these amounts to plan your budget.
I had the same problem with getting through to NYS Department of Labor by phone. Someone on here recommended using Claimyr (claimyr.com) - it's a service that calls for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. I watched their demo video (https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI) and decided to try it. Got through in like 20 minutes and was able to get my claim status updated. Might be worth checking out if you keep having phone issues.
The whole system is designed to keep people out!! They make the rules so confusing on purpose. I've been fighting with NYS Department of Labor for months over my claim and nobody can give me straight answers about why I was disqualified.
Just to add - even if you qualify initially, you still have to meet ongoing requirements like doing job searches and being available for work. The NYS Department of Labor tracks this stuff and can disqualify you if you don't follow the rules.
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor for research data or clarification on how they categorize different unemployment types, I had luck using Claimyr recently. They helped me reach an actual agent when I couldn't get through the normal phone lines. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Might be useful for getting official information for your paper.
just remember for your paper that the unemployment rate only counts people in the labor force. so retirees, full-time students, people on disability who aren't seeking work - none of them count as unemployed even if they don't have jobs. it's specifically about people who want to work and are available to work but can't find employment
The real issue is that NYS Department of Labor is completely understaffed and their phone system is designed to discourage people from calling. Even when claims are 'routine' they're taking longer than they should because there's just not enough people processing them. It's intentional bureaucratic friction.
Just went through this myself in December. Filed on a Monday, got approved exactly 2 weeks later on the following Monday. Make sure you're filing your weekly claims even while it's pending - that's really important or you'll lose those weeks.
Fatima Al-Qasimi
The whole system is basically employers pre-paying for the possibility that they might have to lay people off. It's required by law and the rates vary by industry and individual employer track records. So when you collect UI benefits, you're getting money that was already set aside for exactly this purpose.
0 coins
Dylan Cooper
my mom asked me the same thing lol, i think a lot of people dont realize its not taxpayer funded
0 coins