Fastest ways to get through to NY unemployment agents when calls keep failing?

try calling at exactly 7:58am, thats when i finally got thru last week. u gotta beat the 8am rush

OMG the NY unemployment phone system is such a DISASTER!!!! I spent TWO WEEKS trying to get through. Called 47 times in one day (yes I counted). The whole system is DESIGNED to keep us from talking to anyone!!!! They don't want to answer our questions because then they'd have to PAY US what they OWE!!

Eventually I did but only because I kept hitting redial like a maniac for 3 hours straight. My finger was literally sore after. And then when I FINALLY got through, they transferred me and I got disconnected!!! Had to start all over the next day.

Same boat here. Been trying for days with no luck. My claim shows "pending review" for some reason and I can't get anyone to explain why. Following to see if anyone has actual solutions.

I was in the same situation last month with my back payments. After struggling for weeks, I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an agent in about 25 minutes. It basically calls unemployment for you and when they get someone on the line, they connect you. Saved me from the endless redial nightmare. Check out their demo at https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE - their website is claimyr.com. Totally worth it for me since I was getting nowhere for almost 3 weeks.

Yeah, it worked for me. I was super skeptical at first but I was at my wit's end. The agent I spoke with was able to fix my back payment issue that had been pending for almost a month. Just make sure you have all your claim info ready when they connect you.

This Claimyr service sounds interesting, but I prefer the free options first. Have you tried emailing your state representative's office? That's what finally worked for me. They have direct channels to the unemployment office and can often get things moving when we can't. Just Google "[your county] NY state representative" and you should find their contact info.

Unemployment specialist here. A few professional tips for getting through: 1. Call on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday - Monday and Friday are the busiest days 2. Try between 10:30-11:30am or 2:30-3:30pm when lunch shifts and day shifts are overlapping 3. When prompted by the automated system, choose the option for "filing a new claim" even if you're not - those queues are often shorter 4. Have your NY.gov ID, PIN, last employer information, and any correspondence reference numbers ready 5. If your issue is complex (like back payments from January), you'll save time by preemptively gathering your certification records for the weeks in question If all else fails, the state rep suggestion is excellent, as is using a callback service if you're comfortable with that approach.

Just to add my experience to the mix... I had 8 weeks of back payments stuck in limbo and was going crazy trying to reach someone. I tried the state rep route and while they did respond eventually (took about 10 days), the Claimyr service was what actually got me through to a human who could help. The agent told me my account had some kind of verification flag that only a phone agent could clear. Frustrating system but at least it's resolved now.

has anyone tried the online message center thing instead of calling? i did that last month and they actually called ME back about 4 days later

Update: After trying for 2 weeks, I finally got through today! Called at 8:25am, and got the message that the wait time was 2+ hours, but decided to wait it out while doing other things. Actually only took 1 hour 20 minutes before I talked to someone. They fixed my issue in 5 minutes. So persistence pays off eventually.

I've been in the exact same situation and here's what finally worked for me: I combined several strategies from this thread. First, I called my state representative's office (found my Assembly member through nyassembly.gov) and they opened a case for me. While waiting for them to respond, I used the Claimyr callback service that Nalani mentioned - it actually got me through in about 45 minutes. The key was having everything ready when they connected me: my NY.gov ID, social security number, employer info, and specific dates for the back payments. The agent was able to see that my January payments were stuck due to an identity verification flag and cleared it on the spot. Total cost was like $20 for the callback service but saved me literally weeks of frustration. Sometimes you just have to accept that the free methods don't always work with NY's overwhelmed system.

I'm dealing with this exact same nightmare right now! Been trying to get through for 3 weeks about a payment issue and it's beyond frustrating. Reading through all these suggestions is really helpful though. I think I'm going to try the multi-pronged approach - contact my state rep tomorrow morning, then try calling during those mid-morning hours that Aidan suggested, and if that doesn't work I'll look into the Claimyr service as a last resort. It's ridiculous that we have to jump through so many hoops just to talk to someone about our own benefits, but at least there are some actual solutions here instead of just "keep calling." Thanks everyone for sharing what actually worked!

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Just wanted to add one more option that helped me get some movement on my case - I filed a complaint with the NY Department of Labor's Office of Special Investigations through their website. It's under the "Report Fraud or Get Help" section. They're supposed to respond within 10 business days for payment issues. I submitted mine 3 days ago so still waiting to see if it works, but figured it's worth mentioning as another free option to try alongside the state rep contact and early morning calling strategies. The form asks for your claim details and specific issue, so have all your info ready. Really hoping one of these methods works for all of us dealing with this mess!