How much do unemployment benefits pay in NY - confused about weekly amount calculation
I'm trying to figure out how much my weekly unemployment benefits will be if I get laid off from my restaurant job. I make about $18/hour working 35 hours a week, so around $630 weekly before taxes. I've heard people say it's like half your pay but I'm not sure if that's gross or net, and if there's a maximum amount. Does anyone know how NYS Department of Labor calculates the weekly benefit amount? I want to plan my budget just in case.
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Sara Hellquiem
NYS unemployment benefits are calculated based on your highest quarter earnings in your base period (usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters). The weekly benefit rate is 1/26th of your highest quarter earnings, with a maximum of $504 per week as of 2025. So if you made $13,104 in your best quarter, you'd get the max $504/week. It's based on gross pay, not net.
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Oscar O'Neil
•Thanks! So if I worked full time for the past year at $18/hour that should put me close to the maximum then? That's actually better than I thought.
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Charlee Coleman
yeah its about half your normal pay give or take depending on how much you made. i got like $380 a week when i was making around $800 weekly but that was before they raised the max amount
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Liv Park
Keep in mind you have to meet the monetary eligibility requirements first. You need at least $2,600 in one quarter and total base period wages of at least 1.5 times your high quarter amount. NYS Department of Labor looks at your work history over the base period to determine both if you qualify and what your weekly benefit rate will be.
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Leeann Blackstein
•What happens if you worked part-time or had gaps in employment? Does that mess up the calculation completely?
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Liv Park
•It depends on your total earnings in the base period. Part-time work counts as long as you meet the minimum requirements. Gaps don't necessarily disqualify you but they might lower your benefit amount if your earnings were spread across fewer quarters.
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Ryder Greene
I had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I needed to check my benefit calculation last year. Kept getting busy signals or hung up on after waiting forever. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Made the whole process so much easier than trying to call myself.
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Oscar O'Neil
•That's good to know! I hate trying to get through to government phone lines. Did they charge you a lot for that service?
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Ryder Greene
•It was worth it to avoid the headache of calling dozens of times. Much easier than dealing with the busy signals and getting disconnected.
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Carmella Fromis
The system is SO confusing! I thought I was going to get way more than I actually got. They calculate it weird with all these quarters and base periods. Why can't they just use your last few paystubs like normal people would expect??
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Sara Hellquiem
•The base period system is designed to use a more stable earnings period rather than just recent weeks, which could be higher or lower than typical. It's supposed to be more fair over time, even though it's definitely confusing at first.
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Genevieve Cavalier
Just went through this process myself recently. One thing to keep in mind is that the weekly benefit amount also depends on whether you have any part-time earnings while collecting unemployment. If you work part-time while on unemployment, they deduct a portion of those earnings from your weekly benefit, but you can still earn up to a certain amount without losing your full benefit. Also, don't forget that unemployment benefits are taxable income - you can have taxes withheld or you'll owe when you file your tax return. The NYS Department of Labor website has a benefit calculator tool that can give you a rough estimate based on your earnings history if you want to get a better idea before you actually need to file.
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James Maki
•That's really helpful info about the part-time work rules! I didn't know you could still earn some money while collecting benefits. Do you remember what the threshold was for how much you can earn before they start reducing your weekly benefit amount? I might need to pick up some shifts here and there to make ends meet.
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