Can I get NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits if my spouse works full time?
My husband has a good job making around $85k but I lost my position at a retail store last month due to company downsizing. I worked there for 2 years and was making $18/hour. A friend told me I might not qualify for unemployment because my spouse has income, but that doesn't sound right to me? We have separate bank accounts and I need my own income to pay for my car and help with household expenses. Has anyone been in this situation? Does NYS Department of Labor consider your spouse's income when determining if you can get benefits?
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Amina Diallo
Your spouse's income has absolutely no impact on your unemployment eligibility! NYS Department of Labor only looks at YOUR work history and earnings when determining benefits. If you worked enough quarters and earned sufficient wages, you should qualify. The only income that matters is what you might earn while collecting benefits - you can work part-time and still collect as long as you report all earnings on your weekly claim.
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Connor O'Brien
•Thank you! That's such a relief. I was worried I'd have to struggle without any income just because my husband works. I'll file my claim this week.
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GamerGirl99
yeah my wife works and i still got unemployment when i got laid off from construction last year. they never asked about her income or anything
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Hiroshi Nakamura
The confusion might come from other benefit programs that DO consider household income, like food stamps or Medicaid. But unemployment insurance is based solely on your individual work history and wages. You'll need to provide your Social Security number, employment history for the past 18 months, and details about why you separated from your job. Since you mentioned downsizing, that should be considered an involuntary separation which won't hurt your claim.
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Isabella Costa
•Wait, so if I work part-time while collecting, do I have to report my husband's income too? I'm confused about what income needs to be reported on the weekly claims.
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Hiroshi Nakamura
•No, only report YOUR earnings. When you file your weekly claim, you only report money YOU earned from work during that week. Your spouse's income is completely irrelevant to your unemployment claim.
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Malik Jenkins
I had such a hard time getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about my claim status. Spent hours calling and either got busy signals or got disconnected after waiting forever. Finally found this service called Claimyr that actually got me connected to a real person at NYS Department of Labor. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they even have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Made my life so much easier when I needed to verify some information about my weekly claims.
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Freya Andersen
•How much does something like that cost? Seems like it might be expensive just to make a phone call.
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Malik Jenkins
•Honestly it was worth it for me because I was getting stressed trying to reach them on my own. They focus on the value of actually connecting you rather than making you pay a fortune for it.
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Eduardo Silva
File as soon as possible! There's a waiting week before benefits start, and the sooner you apply the sooner your claim gets processed. With your work history at the retail job, you should definitely qualify. Just make sure you keep track of your job search activities since NYS Department of Labor requires you to actively look for work.
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