How many weeks must you work to collect unemployment benefits in NY?
I've been working part-time jobs for the past year and my hours just got cut to basically nothing. I want to file for unemployment but I'm not sure if I've worked enough to qualify. Does anyone know how many weeks you need to work before you can collect unemployment benefits in New York? I've had three different jobs over the last 12 months but none of them were full-time. Really hoping I qualify because I need to pay rent next month.
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Fernanda Marquez
It's not about weeks worked - NYS Department of Labor looks at your earnings during your base period, which is usually the first four quarters of the last five completed quarters before you file. You need to have earned at least $2,600 in your base period and earned at least $1,716 in your highest earning quarter. If you had multiple jobs, all your earnings count toward the total.
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Aidan Percy
AuthorOh that makes more sense! I was thinking it was like you had to work X number of weeks. So if I made $3,000 total last year from all my jobs combined, I should be good to apply?
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Norman Fraser
wait so its not about time worked at all?? i thought you had to work like 20 weeks or something. this is confusing
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Fernanda Marquez
Nope, it's purely based on wages earned during specific quarters. The quarters are Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sep, and Oct-Dec. NYS Department of Labor will automatically calculate your base period when you file your claim.
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Kendrick Webb
I had a similar situation last year with multiple part-time jobs. What really helped me was using a service called Claimyr to get through to an actual NYS Department of Labor agent. I was so confused about whether I qualified and couldn't get anyone on the phone for weeks. Claimyr.com helped me connect with someone who looked at my earnings and confirmed I was eligible. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Worth checking out if you can't get through the regular phone lines.
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Hattie Carson
How much did that cost you? I've been trying to reach NYS Department of Labor for two weeks about my claim status.
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Kendrick Webb
It was definitely worth it for the peace of mind. Much better than spending hours calling and getting busy signals or hung up on.
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Destiny Bryant
Just file your claim anyway - the worst they can say is no. I filed not knowing if I qualified and turns out I did. The NYS Department of Labor system will tell you pretty quickly if you don't meet the wage requirements.
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Aidan Percy
AuthorGood point, I'll probably just go ahead and file tomorrow. Thanks everyone for the help understanding how this works!
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Nia Davis
Just to add some clarity - you also need to have worked in at least two different quarters during your base period to qualify. So it's not just about hitting the $2,600 total, you need to have earnings spread across multiple quarters. This trips up a lot of people who had all their earnings concentrated in just one quarter. The NYS Department of Labor website has a benefit calculator that can help you figure out if you qualify before you file.
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GalaxyGlider
This is really helpful info! I didn't know about the two-quarter requirement. I think I might be in trouble because most of my earnings were from one job I had over the summer. Does anyone know if there's any way around this rule or am I just out of luck?
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Sofia Gutierrez
Unfortunately, the two-quarter requirement is pretty strict - there's no real way around it. However, you might want to double-check which quarters your earnings actually fall into. If you worked that summer job from like June through August, your earnings might span the Apr-Jun and Jul-Sep quarters depending on when exactly you got paid. Also, if you had any other work (even just a few shifts somewhere else) in a different quarter, that could help you meet the requirement. Worth pulling together all your pay stubs to see exactly how your earnings are distributed across quarters before giving up!
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CaptainAwesome
@GalaxyGlider Unfortunately there isn't really a way around the two-quarter rule - it's pretty strict. However, you might want to check if NYS has an alternate base period option. Sometimes they can look at more recent quarters if you don't qualify under the standard base period. It's worth calling to ask about, or you could try that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier to get connected with an agent who can review your specific situation.
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