Confused about what is federal unemployment vs NYS Department of Labor benefits
I keep hearing people talk about federal unemployment and I'm really confused about what that means compared to regular unemployment benefits from NYS Department of Labor. I filed my initial claim last month and I'm getting weekly payments, but someone at work mentioned federal unemployment and now I'm wondering if I'm missing out on something? Are there different types of unemployment benefits? I thought all unemployment came from the state. Can someone explain what is federal unemployment and if I need to apply for it separately?
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Norah Quay
You're not missing anything! What people call 'federal unemployment' usually refers to extended benefit programs that were available during emergencies like the pandemic (PUA, PEUC, etc.). Regular unemployment insurance in New York is administered by NYS Department of Labor but it's actually a joint federal-state program. The federal government sets basic standards and provides funding, but each state runs their own program. Your weekly benefits are coming from this regular UI program.
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Kelsey Chin
•Oh that makes sense! So the benefits I'm getting now from NYS Department of Labor are technically federal money? I was worried I was supposed to file somewhere else too.
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Leo McDonald
yeah i was confused about this too when i first filed. there's no separate federal application or anything. the nys department of labor handles everything for regular unemployment benefits in new york
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Jessica Nolan
The confusion comes from the pandemic era when there were multiple federal programs like PUA for self-employed people and PEUC for extended benefits. Those programs ended in 2021. Now we're back to the standard unemployment insurance program that's always existed. You file through NYS Department of Labor and that's it - no other applications needed.
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Angelina Farar
•Wait so there's no way to get federal unemployment anymore? I thought I heard someone got extra weeks recently.
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Jessica Nolan
•Regular NY unemployment can be extended to 26 weeks depending on the unemployment rate, but the special pandemic federal programs are gone. Any extensions now would still be processed through your existing NYS Department of Labor claim.
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Sebastián Stevens
I had such a hard time getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about this same thing. Spent hours on hold trying to clarify. Actually ended up using this service called claimyr.com that helped me get connected to an actual agent - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Made it so much easier to get my questions answered about the different benefit types.
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Kelsey Chin
•That sounds helpful! I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for days about other questions but can never get through.
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Bethany Groves
Just to add - if you're currently receiving benefits through NYS Department of Labor, you're getting regular unemployment insurance which is the main program. Don't worry about applying anywhere else. The only time you'd need to look into other programs is if you were self-employed or gig worker, but even then those special programs ended years ago.
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