How long do you have to work to collect unemployment benefits in NY?

You need to have worked and earned wages in at least two of the four quarters before you file your claim. NYS Department of Labor looks at your base period which is usually the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. You also need to have earned at least $2,600 in one quarter and total wages of at least 1.5 times your highest quarter earnings. So if your highest quarter was $3,000, you'd need at least $4,500 total.

In New York, you need to meet the base period earnings requirement. The NYS Department of Labor looks at your earnings during your base period, which is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file. You need to have earned at least $2,700 in your highest earning quarter AND have total base period earnings of at least 1.5 times your high quarter amount. So if you earned $3,000 in your best quarter, you'd need at least $4,500 total in the base period.

Also important to know that you have to be unemployed through no fault of your own. If you quit or get fired for misconduct, you won't qualify regardless of how much you earned. The NYS Department of Labor will investigate the reason for your job separation during the adjudication process.

i think its like 6 months of work but not sure about the money part. when i applied they asked for all my job history going back like 18 months so maybe keep track of that

If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to check your earnings record or get more info about your eligibility, I had good luck with a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com). They help you actually reach a live agent instead of sitting on hold forever. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of calling and getting disconnected.

I had the same question when I got laid off in September! The base period thing is confusing but basically they look at your earnings from January through December of last year if you're filing now. You don't need to work continuously but you do need to meet both the quarter requirement and the wage thresholds. I was panicking too but ended up qualifying even though I had some gaps in employment.

Don't forget you also need to be able and available for work and actively seeking employment. The job search requirements are pretty strict now - you have to log 3 work search activities per week and keep detailed records.

I think there's also an alternative base period if you don't qualify under the regular one? Something about using more recent quarters?

The work requirements are just another way for them to deny benefits to people who need help. I've been fighting with NYS Department of Labor for months over my claim and they keep finding new reasons to delay payments. Even if you meet all their requirements on paper, expect them to find something wrong with your application.

same boat here - got laid off and trying to figure out if i qualify. thanks for asking this question!

Since you started in March, you'll likely need to wait until you have enough quarters and wages built up to qualify. The base period they look at is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file. So if you filed today, they'd typically look at Q1 2024 through Q4 2024. Since you just started in March 2025, you might not have enough earnings history yet. However, if you don't qualify under the regular base period, they'll automatically check the alternative base period which uses the most recent 4 completed quarters - this could potentially help you if you had previous employment. Keep detailed records of all your wages and work history just in case!