Does filing for unemployment hurt your credit score with NYS Department of Labor?
I'm thinking about filing for unemployment benefits but I'm worried it might damage my credit score. I've heard mixed things about whether government benefits show up on credit reports. Does anyone know if applying for or receiving NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits affects your credit? I already have some credit issues from when I lost my job and I can't afford to make things worse. Any experiences with this?
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Benjamin Kim
No, filing for unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor does not affect your credit score at all. Unemployment benefits are not loans or debt - they're insurance benefits you've earned through your previous employment. Credit bureaus don't track government benefit applications or payments. The only way unemployment could indirectly affect credit is if you miss bill payments while waiting for your claim to be processed, but the filing itself won't hurt your score.
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Victoria Stark
•That's a huge relief! I was really stressed about this. How long does it usually take for the first payment to come through after filing?
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Samantha Howard
definitely doesnt hurt credit i filed last year and my score actually went up a little because i could pay my bills on time again lol
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Megan D'Acosta
Wait, I'm confused about this too. When I applied for my weekly claim certification, they asked for my social security number. Doesn't that mean they're doing some kind of credit check? I'm worried because I have student loans in default and don't want more problems.
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Sarah Ali
•They need your SSN for identity verification and to check your work history, not for credit. NYS Department of Labor verifies your employment records and wages to determine eligibility - that's completely separate from credit reporting. Your student loan issues won't affect your unemployment claim at all.
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Ryan Vasquez
The only time unemployment might show up anywhere financial is if you have to pay it back due to overpayment, and even then it would only affect credit if you completely ignored NYS Department of Labor collection efforts for a very long time. But regular filing and receiving benefits? Zero impact on credit.
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Avery Saint
I've been dealing with NYS Department of Labor for months trying to resolve an adjudication issue and I can confirm - no credit impact whatsoever. Actually, if you're having trouble getting through to them by phone to check on your claim status, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you get connected to agents. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me hours of trying to call.
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Victoria Stark
•Interesting, might check that out if I run into issues. Good to know there are options if the phone lines are jammed.
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Taylor Chen
my cousin filed and she said it was fine for her credit but honestly the whole system is so messed up who knows what they're really tracking behind the scenes... at least you get some money though
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