Does filing for unemployment affect your credit score - worried about NYS Department of Labor claim impact
I'm about to file my first unemployment claim with NYS Department of Labor after getting laid off from my marketing job last week. My biggest concern right now is whether this will hurt my credit score somehow. I've worked really hard to get my credit up to 750 over the past few years and I can't afford to have it drop. Does anyone know if there's any connection between filing UI claims and credit reporting? I've heard conflicting things from friends and I want to make sure before I submit my application on the my.ny.gov website.
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Eleanor Foster
No, filing for unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor does not affect your credit score at all. Unemployment claims are not reported to credit bureaus like Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. The UI system is completely separate from credit reporting. Your unemployment claim status, weekly certifications, and benefit payments have zero impact on your credit report or score.
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Nathan Kim
•That's such a relief to hear! I was really stressing about this. So even if my claim goes into adjudication or takes a while to process, none of that shows up anywhere on my credit?
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Lucas Turner
yeah ur fine, been collecting UI on and off for 3 years and my credit score actually went up during that time. totally separate systems
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Kai Rivera
Your credit score won't be affected by unemployment filing, but make sure you keep up with any existing debt payments while you're receiving benefits. The unemployment payments might be less than your previous salary, so budget carefully. Also, unemployment benefits are taxable income, so plan for that when tax season comes around.
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Nathan Kim
•Good point about the budgeting. I'm hoping my claim processes quickly so I can start receiving payments soon. Do you know how long NYS Department of Labor typically takes to approve claims?
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Kai Rivera
•Usually 2-3 weeks if there are no issues with your application. Make sure you file your weekly claims even while waiting for approval - you can backdate them once approved.
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Anna Stewart
I was worried about the same thing when I filed last year! Turns out the only thing that could potentially affect your credit is if you fall behind on existing bills because you're waiting for unemployment payments. The actual unemployment claim itself doesn't show up anywhere on credit reports. I had such a hard time getting through to NYS Department of Labor to check my claim status though - kept getting busy signals for weeks.
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Layla Sanders
•Oh man, the phone situation with NYS Department of Labor is brutal. I actually found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you get through to unemployment agents. They have this video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Basically they handle the calling and waiting for you, then connect you when an agent picks up. Saved me hours of frustration when I needed to resolve an adjudication issue.
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Morgan Washington
Just want to echo what others said - unemployment and credit are completely unrelated. I work in banking and can confirm that unemployment benefit information is not shared with credit reporting agencies. Your credit score is based on payment history, credit utilization, length of credit history, types of credit, and new credit inquiries. Government benefit programs like UI don't factor in at all.
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Kaylee Cook
omg I had this same panic when I got laid off during covid!! spent like 2 hours googling this exact question lol. but yeah everyone's right, totally separate things. just make sure you don't miss any credit card or loan payments while you're on unemployment
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