How much unemployment will I get calculator - NYS Department of Labor benefit amounts
I just got laid off from my job making $58k a year and trying to figure out exactly how much my weekly unemployment check will be. Is there some kind of calculator on the NYS Department of Labor website or somewhere else that can tell me what my benefit amount will be? I've been looking all over my.ny.gov but can't find anything that gives me a clear number. I know it's based on your wages but I don't understand how they calculate it. Anyone know where I can find this info or how the calculation actually works?
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Sarah Ali
The NYS Department of Labor calculates your weekly benefit rate using your highest quarter earnings from your base period (usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters). Your weekly benefit rate is 1/26th of your highest quarter wages, with a maximum of $504 per week in 2025. So if your highest quarter was $15,000, you'd get about $577 per week, but capped at $504.
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Megan D'Acosta
•Wait that doesn't make sense - if 15k divided by 26 is 577 but the max is 504, wouldn't I get 504? And how do I figure out what my highest quarter was?
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Ryan Vasquez
You can estimate it yourself but there's no official calculator on the NYS Department of Labor site unfortunately. Take your gross wages from your highest earning quarter in your base period and divide by 26. That's your weekly benefit rate before the cap. The base period is typically the first 4 quarters of the last 5 completed quarters before you filed.
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Avery Saint
•This is confusing me too. If I made 58k last year, does that mean my highest quarter was probably around 14-15k? So I'd get the max $504?
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Taylor Chen
honestly the NYS Department of Labor makes this way too complicated... i just called them directly to ask about my benefit amount when i filed. took forever to get through but they calculated it for me on the spot. you could also try using one of those third party services that help you get through to agents faster
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Keith Davidson
•What service did you use? I've been trying to call for days and either get disconnected or the line is busy. Really frustrating when you just need a simple answer about your benefit calculation.
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Taylor Chen
•I used this thing called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that basically calls for you and gets you connected to an actual NYS Department of Labor agent. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of calling and getting hung up on.
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Ezra Bates
Just a heads up - even if you calculate what you think you should get, sometimes the NYS Department of Labor comes up with a different number based on wages they have on file vs what you think you earned. I thought I'd get around $480 based on my calculations but ended up getting $421 because one of my employers didn't report all my wages correctly.
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Megan D'Acosta
•Oh great, another thing to worry about. How did you find out about the wage reporting issue? Did you have to appeal or anything?
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Ava Martinez
•@Ezra Bates that s'exactly what I m'worried about! How long did it take to get that sorted out? I m'already stressed about being laid off and now I m'wondering if my employers reported everything correctly. Did you have to provide your own pay stubs or tax documents to prove what you actually earned?
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Astrid Bergström
•I had a similar situation with wage discrepancies! You don't automatically have to appeal - first check your online account on my.ny.gov to see what wages they have on file for each quarter. If something looks wrong, you can submit a wage protest form online or call them. I had to provide W-2s and pay stubs to prove my actual earnings. It took about 3-4 weeks to get resolved but they did backpay me the difference once it was corrected. The key is catching it early before you start receiving benefits.
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