Desperate for actual human at NY unemployment - endless phone maze driving me insane

Welcome to the club. I've been stuck in the same situation since October. That automated system is hell on earth. Sometimes I get through the whole menu just to have it hang up on me. I've wasted hours of my life on that stupid phone line.

After 2 weeks of unsuccessful calls and almost giving up, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) and it was a game changer! It basically waits on hold for you and calls your phone when an actual agent picks up. Saved me hours of frustration and talking to an agent got my payments flowing again within 24 hours. Best decision I made after weeks of banging my head against the wall with those automated menus. Check out this video that explains how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

The phone system is literally the 9th circle of hell. I've found that calling EXACTLY at 8:01am (not 8:00, not 8:02) sometimes works. Also, don't press any buttons when the automated system starts talking - sometimes that routes you to a human faster. And if you get the "call back later" message, ignore it and immediately call back. Sometimes takes me 15-20 attempts in a row before getting in the queue.

I worked at a call center before (not unemployment) but here's what I know: The system is overwhelmed by design. They don't have enough staff and they make the phone tree confusing on purpose to discourage callers. Your best bet is Monday or Tuesday morning, but NOT first thing - everyone tries that. Try 10:30am instead when the first wave has died down. Never call on Friday, that's when everyone panics about weekend. And use the proper prompts - don't just hit 0 repeatedly as that can flag you as an 'improper caller' in some systems.

After literally 47 attempts over 3 weeks, I FINALLY got through yesterday. Here's exactly what worked: Called 1-888-209-8124, pressed 1 for English, waited through the whole intro message (DO NOT INTERRUPT IT), then pressed 2, then 1, then 1 again, then had to enter my social and pin. Then it asked some verification questions and finally put me in the queue. Waited 53 minutes but finally got a human who fixed my issue in 5 minutes. Don't give up!

I know this sounds ridiculous but I had to contact my state senator's office for help. Their constituent services team has dedicated contacts at unemployment and can escalate your case. I was desperate after 5 weeks of no benefits and calls going nowhere. Emailed my senator's office with my info and they had unemployment call ME within 48 hours. Worth a try if nothing else is working!

Ok here's the comprehensive guide to NY unemployment phone hell: - The official number (888-209-8124) is open Mon-Fri 8am-6pm - BEST TIMES TO CALL: Tuesday-Thursday between 10:30-11:30am or 2:30-3:30pm (avoid Monday mornings and Friday afternoons at all costs) - DON'T keep calling back-to-back, the system will flag you and auto-block your number temporarily - When you get the "we're experiencing high call volume" message, you can try the workaround of pressing # repeatedly during the message (works sometimes) - ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION: Try the Telecert line (888-581-5812) and press 9 for an agent - If all else fails, use Claimyr.com - it's what finally worked for me after 3 weeks of trying. They wait on hold and call you when an agent picks up Stay strong, the system is broken by design but persistence eventually pays off!

Honestly at this point, ny unemployment needs a complete overhaul. The system was garbage BEFORE the pandemic and now it's just totally collapsed. I feel your pain - it took me almost 2 months to get my issue resolved back in the fall. Keep documenting everything and save all confirmation numbers when you try to submit stuff online.

Did anyone else notice they completely redesigned the website but somehow made it WORSE? Like how is that even possible 😭

i just wanna say i feel ur pain so much. ive been on the phone every day for almost a month and havent talked to a single human being. my bills are piling up and my anxiety is through the roof. this system is a joke.

Has anyone tried going to one of the actual NY Department of Labor offices in person? I'm considering just showing up at this point...

Try contacting them through Twitter. Seriously. Tweet @NYSLabor with your issue (don't include personal info) and they'll usually DM you to get your details. Worked for me when nothing else did.

After many failed attempts I finally had success with claimyr.com - they got me connected with a live agent who helped fix my claim. It was worth every penny to finally get my backpay released. Highly recommend if you're desperate like I was.