How much does unemployment give you in New York State - weekly benefit amounts?

That's actually better than I thought! So they look at 18 months of earnings not just my most recent job?

wait unemployment is taxable?? nobody told me that when I filed my claim last year

@Camila Jordan Yeah unemployment benefits are definitely taxable as regular income. You can choose to have taxes withheld when you certify each week I (think it s'10% federal or) you can pay at tax time. I learned this the hard way my first time on unemployment - ended up owing money come April!

If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor by phone, I used a service called Claimyr that helped me reach an actual agent. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of calling and getting disconnected.

True, I never thought about it that way. I did pay into this system so I might as well use it when I need it.

@Connor Murphy That s'really helpful to know! How long did it take for your benefits to start after you applied? I m'worried about the gap between filing and actually getting paid since I don t'have much saved up.

@Mateo Silva In my experience it took about 3 weeks to get my first payment after filing, but that was after getting through the initial review process. The first week is always a waiting week where you don t'get paid anyway. I d'recommend applying ASAP and maybe see if you can pick up some gig work in the meantime to bridge the gap. Also make sure you keep certifying for benefits every week even if you haven t'received anything yet - missing those weekly certifications can delay everything.

@Mateo Silva In my experience it took about 3-4 weeks to get my first payment after filing. There s'typically a one week waiting period that s'unpaid, then it takes time for them to process everything. I d'recommend applying ASAP and maybe see if you can pick up some gig work or ask family for help to bridge that gap. The retroactive payments do come through once you re'approved though, so you ll'get paid for those waiting weeks eventually.

@Mateo Silva In my experience it took about 3-4 weeks from application to first payment, but that was during a less busy period. Right now with higher claim volumes it might take longer. The key is to apply immediately and keep certifying every week even while waiting. You should also look into local food banks and emergency assistance programs if money is really tight during the waiting period. Some utility companies also have hardship programs if you call them proactively.

@Mateo Silva In my case it took about 3 weeks from filing to receiving my first payment, but that was during a less busy period. The first week is always a waiting week where you don t'get paid anyway, then there s'processing time. I d'recommend applying ASAP and maybe looking into local food banks or assistance programs to bridge the gap if money is tight. Also keep certifying for benefits every week even while waiting - missing a certification can delay everything even more.

@Mateo Silva In my experience it took about 2-3 weeks from when I filed to get my first payment. The first week is usually a waiting week where you don t'get paid anyway, then there s'processing time. I d'suggest applying ASAP and maybe see if family or friends can help with essentials in the meantime. Also keep all your documentation organized - they might ask for additional proof of employment or earnings which can delay things if you re'not prepared.

@Mateo Silva It took about 3 weeks for my first payment to come through after I filed, but that included the mandatory waiting week. The key is to file your weekly certification every Sunday even before you get approved - don t'skip any weeks or you ll'lose those benefits. I d'recommend applying for some local food assistance programs too if money is tight during the waiting period. Also check if your county has any emergency rental assistance - mine helped cover part of my rent while I was waiting for unemployment to kick in.

@Mateo Silva In my experience it took about 3-4 weeks to get my first payment after filing, which included the one week waiting period that NY requires. The first week you re'eligible you don t'get paid, then there s'processing time on top of that. I d'definitely recommend applying ASAP and maybe see if you can pick up some gig work in the meantime to bridge the gap. Also make sure you certify for benefits every week even if your claim is still pending - you can backdate those weeks once it gets approved.

@Mateo Silva In my case it took about 3 weeks from filing to getting my first payment, but that was pretty typical pre-pandemic. The first week is usually a waiting week where you don t'get paid anyway. I d'recommend applying online through the NY.gov website as soon as possible and make sure you certify for benefits every week even if your claim is still being processed. If you re'really tight on cash, look into local food banks or emergency assistance programs while you wait - many churches and community centers can help bridge that gap.

@Mateo Silva In my experience it took about 3-4 weeks from application to first payment, but that was back when the system wasn t'as backed up. There s'usually a one week waiting period that s'unpaid, then if everything goes smoothly you should start getting payments. The key is to make sure you certify for benefits every week even if your claim is still being processed - you can backdate those weeks once it s'approved. I d'recommend having at least a month of expenses saved if possible because the timing can be unpredictable.

@Mateo Silva For me it took about 3 weeks from when I first applied to when I got my first payment. The first week is always unpaid waiting (week ,)then there was some processing time. I d'recommend applying ASAP and maybe see if you can pick up some gig work or ask family for help to bridge that gap. Also make sure you certify for benefits every week even if your claim is still processing - you don t'want to miss out on back payments once it gets approved.

@Mateo Silva In my case it took about 3-4 weeks from when I filed to get my first payment, but that included a one week waiting period that s'standard in NY. The biggest delay was getting through the initial review process. My advice would be to file your claim immediately even while you re'still figuring out the details - the sooner you get in the system the better. And definitely keep detailed records of your job search activities from day one since they ll'ask for that info when you certify for benefits each week.

@Mateo Silva In my experience it took about 3 weeks from filing to getting my first payment, but that was before all the system overloads. There s'typically a one week waiting period that you don t'get paid for, then processing time on top of that. If you re'really tight on money, you might want to look into local food banks or assistance programs to help bridge that gap. Also make sure you certify for benefits every week even if your claim is still pending - you don t'want to miss out on back payments once it gets approved.

@Mateo Silva It took about 3 weeks for me to get my first payment, but that included a one-week waiting period that they ve'since eliminated. The key is to file your weekly certifications on time even before your claim is fully processed - I made that mistake initially and it delayed everything. If you re'really tight on money, look into local food banks and see if you qualify for emergency assistance programs while you wait. Also, some utility companies have programs to defer payments if you show proof of your unemployment claim.

@Mateo Silva In my experience it took about 3-4 weeks from filing to getting my first payment, but that was last year so it might be different now. The first week is always unpaid waiting (week and) then there can be processing delays. I d'recommend applying immediately and maybe looking into local food banks or asking family for help to bridge that gap. Also make sure you certify for benefits every week even if you haven t'heard anything yet - missing those weekly certifications can really mess things up.

@Mateo Silva In my experience it took about 3 weeks from when I filed to get my first payment. There s'typically a one week waiting period that s'unpaid, then it takes time for them to process everything. If you re'really tight on money, you might want to look into local food banks or emergency assistance programs to help bridge that gap. Also make sure you certify for benefits every week even if you haven t'gotten your determination yet - that way you won t'miss any payments once it s'approved.

@Mateo Silva In my experience it took about 3 weeks from filing to getting my first payment, but that was with no issues on my claim. The first week is always unpaid waiting (week and) then there can be processing delays. I d'recommend applying immediately and also looking into local food banks or emergency assistance programs to bridge the gap. Some areas have rapid reemployment services that can help with immediate needs too.

@Mateo Silva In my experience it took about 2-3 weeks to get my first payment after filing. The first week is usually a waiting week anyway where you don t'get paid, then it takes time to process. I d'recommend applying immediately and also looking into local food banks or emergency assistance programs to help bridge that gap. Some areas have rapid reemployment services that can help too. Don t'wait to apply thinking you ll'find a job quickly - it s'better to have the safety net in place.