High unemployment in my area - NYS Department of Labor claim taking forever?
I've been waiting 6 weeks for my NYS Department of Labor claim to process and I'm starting to wonder if the high unemployment rate in my region is causing massive delays. My claim shows 'pending adjudication' but there's no explanation of what they're investigating. I lost my job at a manufacturing plant that laid off 200+ people in February, so I know tons of people are filing claims right now. Has anyone else noticed their UI claims taking way longer than usual when unemployment spikes in their area? I'm in upstate NY and it feels like the whole system is overwhelmed.
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Liam O'Sullivan
Yes, high unemployment volumes definitely slow down processing times at NYS Department of Labor. When there's a surge of claims from mass layoffs or plant closures, adjudication can take 4-8 weeks instead of the usual 2-3 weeks. The good news is that if your claim is approved, you'll get back pay to your filing date. Make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even while it's pending.
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Mei Chen
•Thanks, that's reassuring about the back pay. I've been filing weekly but worried I was wasting my time if the claim never gets approved.
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Amara Okonkwo
ugh same situation here, filed 5 weeks ago after getting laid off from a retail chain that closed 3 locations. still waiting and my savings are almost gone
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Giovanni Marino
•If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor by phone to check your status, I used a service called Claimyr that helped me get through to an actual agent. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really helped when I was stuck in adjudication limbo.
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Fatima Al-Sayed
High unemployment is usually a sign that the local economy is struggling, which creates a vicious cycle. More people filing claims means longer wait times, which means people can't spend money, which hurts local businesses even more. The NYS Department of Labor system just isn't designed to handle these surges efficiently.
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Dylan Hughes
•THIS!! Its like they expect unemployment to stay steady but then act surprised when major employers start doing layoffs. The whole system falls apart when we actually need it most.
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NightOwl42
I work in HR and we had to lay off 80 people last month. The NYS Department of Labor told us to expect delays because they're seeing claim volumes 40% higher than normal in our region. They said to tell employees to be patient but keep filing weekly.
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Mei Chen
•That's helpful context, thank you. Do you know if they're hiring more adjudicators to handle the volume?
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NightOwl42
•They mentioned they're working on staffing but didn't give specifics. Government hiring is slow even in emergencies unfortunately.
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Sofia Rodriguez
been there - when unemployment spikes everyone assumes their claim will be quick but reality hits hard
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