Curious about how many people collect unemployment in NY - what are the current numbers?
Been wondering about this lately since I just started my claim last month. Does anyone know roughly how many people are currently collecting unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor? I keep hearing different numbers and I'm trying to get a sense of whether this is normal or if there's unusually high demand right now. My weekly claims have been processing fine but the wait times when I call suggest there's a lot of volume.
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Sebastian Scott
The NYS Department of Labor doesn't release real-time numbers but based on their quarterly reports, New York typically has around 200,000-300,000 active claimants during normal economic periods. That number can spike during recessions or mass layoffs. The high call volume you're experiencing is pretty standard - the system handles millions of calls per month even during good times.
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Sarah Jones
•Thanks for the context! That helps explain why it's so hard to get through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor.
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Emily Sanjay
i think its way higher than that now. my friend works at a workforce one center and she says they're swamped with new applications every week. plus all the people on standby status from seasonal work adds to the numbers
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Sebastian Scott
•You're right that standby claims do add significantly to the total. Many people don't realize those count toward the overall unemployment statistics even though the process is different.
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Jordan Walker
Whatever the number is, it's too many! The whole system is overwhelmed and nobody can get help when they need it. I've been trying to resolve an adjudication issue for weeks.
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Natalie Adams
•If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor for adjudication issues, you might want to check out claimyr.com. I used their service last month when I couldn't get through about my claim status and they got me connected to an agent within a day. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works.
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Jordan Walker
•Hmm interesting, never heard of that before. Might be worth trying since I'm getting nowhere with the regular phone system.
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Elijah O'Reilly
Just to add - the numbers also fluctuate seasonally. Construction workers, hospitality, retail all have different patterns throughout the year which affects the total claimant count.
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Misterclamation Skyblue
The seasonal aspect is really important to consider. I'm in hospitality myself and noticed that claim numbers tend to spike after the holiday season and during slower tourist periods. From what I've observed, NYC alone probably accounts for a huge chunk of those statewide numbers given how many service industry workers cycle through unemployment benefits during off-seasons. The system definitely feels more strained during these peak periods.
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Lydia Santiago
•That makes total sense about NYC driving up the numbers. I hadn't thought about how much the service industry cycling affects the overall statistics. Do you know if there are any resources that break down the unemployment numbers by industry or region? It would be interesting to see how much hospitality and tourism really impact the state totals during those seasonal dips.
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