Can you collect unemployment from two different jobs at the same time with NYS Department of Labor?

Yes, NYS Department of Labor absolutely considers wages from multiple employers when calculating your weekly benefit amount. They look at your total earnings during your base period (usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters) regardless of how many different jobs you had. The system will combine all your covered wages to determine both your eligibility and benefit amount. Your weekly benefit rate is typically about half of your average weekly wage, up to the maximum allowed.

same thing happened to me last year when my restaurant job and my retail job both ended. the unemployment office combined everything automatically when they processed my claim

Just make sure when you file your weekly claims that you report ANY work from either type of job if you pick up shifts. I made the mistake of only thinking about my main job and got in trouble for not reporting some catering work I did while collecting. NYS Department of Labor wants to know about all work, even if it's just a few hours.

The unemployment system is so confusing when you've had multiple jobs! I was in a similar spot and had such a hard time getting through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor to ask questions. Ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to a real person who could explain how my benefits were calculated. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Made the whole process way less stressful than trying to call the regular number.

I'm dealing with something similar but I think one of my jobs might not have been reporting my wages correctly to NYS Department of Labor. How do you know if all your wages are showing up in the system? My benefit amount seems lower than I expected based on what I was making combined from both jobs.

Having multiple jobs definitely complicates things but you're on the right track! One thing to keep in mind is that NYS Department of Labor will also look at whether you're "totally unemployed" or "partially unemployed" - since you lost both jobs completely, you should qualify for full benefits based on your combined wages. Just make sure to keep good records of your employment dates and final pay from both employers in case they need verification. The system can sometimes take a while to process claims with multiple employers, so don't panic if it takes longer than expected to get your first payment.

I went through this exact same situation a few months ago! Had a morning coffee shop job and evening tutoring work, both ended when the coffee shop closed for renovations and my tutoring clients went on winter break. NYS Department of Labor definitely combines all your wages from covered employment - it actually worked out better for me than I expected because my benefit amount was based on my total earnings from both jobs. The key thing is making sure both employers were paying into the unemployment insurance system (most legitimate employers do). One tip: when you do your weekly certifications, be really careful about the work search requirements since you'll need to look for work that matches your availability for either type of job you had. The whole process took about 2-3 weeks to get fully processed in my case, but once it went through, the benefits were retroactive to when I first filed.

I'm in almost the exact same boat - had a morning barista job and weekend wedding photography gig that both ended in late December. The NYS Department of Labor system was pretty straightforward about combining the wages, but what surprised me was that they also factor in your work patterns when determining ongoing eligibility. Since both of my jobs were somewhat irregular (coffee shop had varying hours, photography was seasonal), they asked for more detailed documentation about my typical weekly earnings. One thing that helped was keeping a simple spreadsheet of my hours and pay from both jobs for the past year - made it much easier when they requested additional info. The processing did take about 3 weeks like others mentioned, but having organized records definitely sped up the verification process. Also, don't stress too much about the work search requirements initially - focus on getting your claim processed first, then you can work with them to clarify what types of job searches count toward your requirements.

I was in a very similar situation last year with two part-time jobs (grocery store and weekend delivery driving) that both ended in November. NYS Department of Labor definitely counts wages from all your covered employers - in fact, having multiple jobs can sometimes work in your favor because they use your highest earning quarter to calculate benefits. One thing I learned is that you should double-check that both employers were actually paying unemployment taxes. Most legitimate employers do, but I had an issue where my delivery job was initially classified as independent contractor work, which doesn't count toward unemployment benefits. If either of your jobs paid you as a 1099 contractor instead of W-2 employee, that could affect your calculation. You can verify this by looking at your tax documents or asking NYS Department of Labor to review your wage history. The whole process took about 3 weeks for me, but once approved, I was getting benefits based on my combined earnings from both jobs, which was actually higher than I expected!