How many people are affected by unemployment in NY - NYS Department of Labor statistics?
I'm trying to understand the scope of unemployment in New York state right now. Does anyone know where to find current statistics on how many people are affected by unemployment? I've been looking at the NYS Department of Labor website but can't find clear numbers on total claimants or people currently receiving benefits. My own claim has been processing for weeks and I'm wondering if this is because they're overwhelmed with volume. Are there official reports that show how many people are filing weekly claims or stuck in adjudication? Just trying to get some perspective on whether my situation is normal given the current caseload.
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StarStrider
The NYS Department of Labor releases monthly statistics in their Labor Market Report. As of the latest data I've seen, NY had around 180,000 people receiving regular unemployment benefits, though this fluctuates seasonally. During peak periods like winter layoffs, that number can jump to 250,000+. Your adjudication delay is unfortunately normal - they're processing about 15,000 new claims weekly on top of ongoing weekly certifications.
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Sean Murphy
•Thanks! Do you know if those numbers include people on standby status or just regular UI claims? I'm trying to figure out if my delay is actually typical.
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Zara Malik
ugh tell me about it... ive been waiting 3 weeks for my claim to get out of adjudication and when i try calling nysdol the wait times are insane. makes sense if theres hundreds of thousands of people all trying to get through
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Luca Marino
•I had similar issues reaching NYS Department of Labor agents by phone. After weeks of trying, I found Claimyr (claimyr.com) which helped me get through to an actual person. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Might be worth checking out if you're stuck in the phone queue loop.
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Nia Davis
The unemployment rate statistics you see in the news (like 3.8% or whatever) don't tell the whole story about how many people are actually dealing with the NYS Department of Labor system. That percentage is based on surveys, but the actual number of people filing claims, appealing decisions, or dealing with overpayment notices is much higher. Plus those stats don't capture people whose benefits expired or who gave up navigating the system.
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Mateo Perez
•THIS! The system is so broken that half the people who need help just give up. I know three people who stopped filing because they couldn't figure out the job search requirements or got tired of the weekly claim glitches.
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Aisha Rahman
Yeah my cousin works at one of the NYS Department of Labor offices and she says they're constantly backlogged. Even when unemployment rates look good on paper there's still tons of people cycling through the system - seasonal workers, people between jobs, folks dealing with reduced hours. The numbers you see publicly are just a snapshot.
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Sean Murphy
•That makes me feel a bit better about my situation. I was starting to think I'd done something wrong with my application.
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