How might lower interest rates affect unemployment claims in NY - worried about my benefits
I've been collecting unemployment for about 8 weeks now and I keep hearing about the Fed potentially lowering interest rates. My brother who works in finance mentioned this could affect unemployment somehow but he wasn't clear on the details. I'm really worried this might mess with my NYS Department of Labor benefits or weekly claims. Has anyone heard anything about this? I can't afford to lose my payments right now and I'm already stressed about the job search requirements. Should I be concerned about changes to my claim status?
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Raul Neal
Lower interest rates don't directly impact your individual NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits at all. Your weekly claim amount and eligibility are based on your prior wages and work history, not federal monetary policy. The Fed's interest rate decisions affect the broader economy - when rates go down, it typically makes borrowing cheaper for businesses, which can lead to more hiring and potentially reduce overall unemployment rates over time. But your current claim won't change because of interest rate moves.
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Heather Tyson
•Oh thank god, I was panicking thinking they might cut my benefits or something. So my $420 weekly amount stays the same regardless?
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Jenna Sloan
Your brother is probably thinking about the bigger economic picture. Lower interest rates can stimulate job creation because companies can borrow money more cheaply to expand operations. This might actually be good news for your job search - more companies hiring means better chances of finding work before your benefits run out. Keep doing your weekly claims and job search log as usual, the NYS Department of Labor processes won't change because of Fed policy.
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Christian Burns
wait so if more people get hired does that mean less money for unemployment insurance? im confused about how this all works
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Raul Neal
•No, that's not how the unemployment insurance fund works. The fund is supported by employer taxes, not by the number of people collecting. If anything, more people working means more employers paying into the system.
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Sasha Reese
I had trouble reaching anyone at NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about how economic changes might affect my claim. The phone lines are always busy and I kept getting disconnected. Finally found this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that actually got me through to a real person. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Turned out my concerns were unnecessary but at least I got peace of mind by talking to an actual agent.
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Heather Tyson
•That sounds helpful, I've been trying to call for weeks about other questions too. Did they charge a lot for that service?
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Sasha Reese
•They don't focus on pricing but on actually getting you connected when you need answers. Way less stressful than calling dozens of times myself.
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Muhammad Hobbs
honestly the whole economic system is rigged anyway, lower rates just help rich people and corporations while we're scraping by on unemployment. my claim got stuck in adjudication for 6 weeks and they act like $400 a week is some kind of luxury
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Noland Curtis
same boat here, been worried about everything affecting my benefits lately
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