How can the government reduce unemployment claims in New York - NYS Department of Labor perspective?
I've been unemployed for 6 months now and filing weekly claims with NYS Department of Labor. Got me thinking about what the government could actually do to reduce unemployment overall. I mean besides just processing our claims faster (which would be nice). Are there programs or policies that actually work to get people back to work? I see job postings but they're either minimum wage or require skills I don't have. What's NYS Department of Labor doing beyond just paying benefits?
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Ava Williams
NYS Department of Labor has several workforce development programs you might not know about. The WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act) funding provides free training for in-demand jobs. You can access these through your local One-Stop Career Center. They also have apprenticeship programs and partnerships with community colleges. Have you checked the job search requirements for your weekly claims? Sometimes they list training opportunities.
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Zainab Mahmoud
•I didn't know about WIOA funding! Is that something I apply for separately from my regular UI benefits? Does it affect my weekly claim eligibility?
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Raj Gupta
honestly the government makes unemployment worse with all the red tape. took me 8 weeks to get my first payment from NYS Department of Labor because of some adjudication issue they never explained properly
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Lena Müller
•The adjudication process exists for a reason - to prevent fraud and ensure eligibility. But you're right that communication could be better. When I had an adjudication delay, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to actually get through to a NYS Department of Labor agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Finally got answers instead of waiting on hold for hours.
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TechNinja
From what I've seen, infrastructure spending creates the most jobs. When the government invests in roads, bridges, broadband expansion - that creates real employment opportunities. NYS Department of Labor tracks these kinds of projects and they usually have good paying jobs that don't require a college degree. The problem is politicians talk about job creation but then cut infrastructure budgets.
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Keisha Thompson
•yeah but those construction jobs are seasonal and then you're back filing unemployment claims in the winter
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Paolo Bianchi
What about tax incentives for small businesses to hire? I keep hearing about these programs but when I apply for jobs at small companies they always say they can't afford to hire. Maybe if NYS Department of Labor had better coordination with economic development agencies? I just feel like there's disconnect between unemployment services and actual job creation policies.
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Ava Williams
•New York does have the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program that gives employers tax credits for hiring certain groups including long-term unemployed. The issue is many small businesses don't know about it or think the paperwork is too complicated.
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Yara Assad
education and retraining is key!!! I went back to school while on unemployment and NYS Department of Labor approved it under their training extension program. Now I have skills employers actually want. But not everyone knows these programs exist - they need better promotion
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Zainab Mahmoud
•Wait, you can go to school while collecting benefits? I thought you had to be available for work immediately. How does that work with the weekly claim requirements?
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