How do I calculate my base period for NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits?
I'm trying to figure out my base period for my unemployment claim but I'm getting confused by all the different quarters and dates. I worked at a restaurant from January 2023 through August 2024, then got laid off in September. When I filed my claim in October 2024, what quarters would they use to calculate my benefits? The NYS Department of Labor website mentions something about the first four of the last five completed quarters but I can't wrap my head around which specific months that would be. Does anyone know how this actually works?
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Giovanni Mancini
Your base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you filed your claim. Since you filed in October 2024, your last completed quarter was Q3 2024 (July-September). Going back five quarters from there: Q3 2024, Q2 2024, Q1 2024, Q4 2023, Q3 2023. So your base period would be Q3 2023 through Q2 2024 (July 2023 - June 2024). NYS Department of Labor uses your wages from those four quarters to determine your weekly benefit amount.
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Amara Nnamani
•Oh that makes more sense! So they wouldn't count my wages from July-August 2024 even though I was still working then?
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Giovanni Mancini
•Exactly right. Those July-August 2024 wages would be in Q3 2024, which isn't part of your base period. It seems unfair but that's how the system works.
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NebulaNinja
wait i thought they used your most recent wages? this is so confusing why would they not count the money you made right before getting laid off
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
•It's because NYS Department of Labor needs time to process employer wage reports. They use completed quarters where all the wage data has been submitted by employers. If you don't have enough wages in the standard base period, you might qualify for an alternate base period that includes more recent quarters.
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Dylan Mitchell
I had this same issue when I got laid off last year. Couldn't understand why my recent overtime wasn't counted in my benefit calculation. The base period thing is one of those unemployment rules that doesn't make intuitive sense but once you get it, it clicks. Just focus on those four specific quarters the first person mentioned - that's what determines your weekly amount.
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Sofia Morales
•Did your benefit amount end up being lower because of the base period calculation? I'm worried mine will be too low since I got a raise in my last few months of work.
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to verify your base period wages, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to an agent. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Was really helpful when I needed to discuss a discrepancy in my wage records.
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Amara Nnamani
•Thanks I'll check that out. I definitely want to make sure they have all my wages recorded correctly before my claim gets processed.
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Dmitry Popov
ugh the whole base period thing is such BS... like why cant they just use your last 12 months of work like a normal person would expect
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Ava Garcia
•I feel you but it's actually not that bad once you understand it. The quarters system helps keep everything organized for the state.
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Amina Toure
I went through this exact same situation! The key thing to remember is that your base period is always one quarter behind because of processing delays. So even though you worked July-August 2024, those wages won't show up until your next benefit year if you need to reapply. It's frustrating but the system is designed this way to ensure all employer wage reports are complete. Make sure to keep all your pay stubs from that restaurant job - sometimes there can be discrepancies between what you earned and what employers reported to NYS Department of Labor.
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Mary Bates
•This is really helpful advice about keeping pay stubs! I actually just realized I might have the same issue - I got a big bonus in my last month before being laid off and I'm wondering if that won't count toward my benefits either. Do you know if one-time payments like bonuses get treated differently, or do they just fall into whatever quarter they were paid in?
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