Can you get unemployment if you never worked - NYS Department of Labor eligibility question

Unfortunately, to qualify for regular unemployment insurance in New York, you need to have earned wages in covered employment during your base period (usually the first four quarters of the last five completed quarters). NYS Department of Labor requires a minimum amount of earnings - typically around $2,600 in your highest quarter and total earnings of at least $3,900 during your base period. The babysitting and occasional work you mentioned probably wouldn't count unless your uncle was paying you as an official employee with taxes withheld.

Yeah same situation here, fresh out of school and can't get UI because I never worked enough hours at a real job. It's frustrating because we still need money to survive while job hunting but the system assumes everyone already has work history.

You might want to look into other assistance programs instead of unemployment. SNAP benefits don't require work history, and there are emergency rental assistance programs in New York. Also check with your college's career services - they sometimes have emergency funds for recent graduates. NYS Department of Labor also offers job training programs through their career centers that might help you build the work history needed for future UI eligibility.

Wait, did your uncle ever give you a 1099 for that landscaping work? Even if it was just a few weeks, if you were paid as an independent contractor and he reported it, that might count as earnings. You should check if you have any reported income from the past 18 months before assuming you don't qualify.

If you do decide to apply anyway just to see what happens, you might have trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask questions. I had issues reaching them when I had questions about my claim. Someone on here recommended a service called Claimyr that helps you get through to actual agents at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Might be worth checking out if you need to talk to someone about your specific situation.

Honestly the whole unemployment system is set up wrong! How are new graduates supposed to survive if they can't get benefits because they never worked but they can't work because nobody will hire someone without experience?? Its like a catch 22 and the government doesn't care about helping young people get started

I was in a similar boat a couple years ago - graduated with no real work history and couldn't get UI benefits. One thing that helped me was applying for entry-level positions at temp agencies. Even short-term assignments start building your work history and get you W-2s that count toward future UI eligibility. Places like Kelly Services, Robert Half, and local staffing agencies often have admin, warehouse, or customer service roles that don't require much experience. It's not ideal but at least you're earning money while building the work history you'll need if you ever have to use unemployment benefits later. Plus some temp jobs turn into permanent positions.