Anyone know how many people are on unemployment in NYS right now?
Just curious - does anyone know roughly how many people are currently receiving unemployment benefits in New York State? I'm trying to understand if the system is overwhelmed or if my claim delays are just normal processing times. Been waiting 3 weeks for my adjudication to finish and wondering if it's because there's still a huge number of people filing claims. My cousin in another state got approved in like 5 days so I'm starting to worry something's wrong with my case.
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Zoe Stavros
Last I heard from NYS Department of Labor data, there were around 180,000-200,000 people receiving regular UI benefits as of early 2025. That's way down from the pandemic peaks but still higher than pre-2020 levels. Your 3-week adjudication delay is pretty typical unfortunately - they're still dealing with staffing issues and the new verification requirements are slowing things down.
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Andre Moreau
•That actually makes me feel better, thanks! I was starting to think they lost my paperwork or something.
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Jamal Harris
i think its way more than that tbh... everyone i know is either on unemployment or knows someone who is. the job market is still rough out here and companies are laying people off left and right. plus with all the new york businesses closing down its gotta be affecting the numbers
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Mei Chen
The numbers fluctuate weekly but you can actually check the current statistics on the NYS Department of Labor website under their labor statistics section. They publish monthly reports with claim volumes, approval rates, and processing times. Keep in mind that adjudication delays aren't necessarily related to overall claim volume - they're more about individual case complexity and verification requirements.
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Liam Sullivan
•I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for two weeks to check on my adjudication status but can never get through. The wait times are insane and I keep getting disconnected. Is there any other way to get updates on your claim?
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Amara Okafor
•I had the same phone issue but found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me through to a NYS Department of Labor agent in like 20 minutes. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. Saved me hours of calling and getting hung up on. Worth checking out if you're stuck in phone hell like I was.
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CosmicCommander
The real question is how many people SHOULD be on unemployment vs how many actually are. I know tons of people who got denied for BS reasons or gave up fighting the system. NYS Department of Labor makes it so hard to navigate that a lot of eligible people just stop trying.
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Giovanni Colombo
•This! My neighbor got disqualified because she missed ONE job search requirement deadline and now she's working two part time jobs just to survive.
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