How much will I get from NYS Department of Labor unemployment calculator - confused about benefit amount

The NYS Department of Labor benefit calculator uses your highest earning quarter from your base period, which is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters. Your weekly benefit rate is 1/26th of that highest quarter amount, up to the maximum of $504 for 2025. If you're seeing different amounts, you might be entering different date ranges or the system might be pulling different quarters. Make sure you're using gross wages, not net.

yeah i had the same confusion when i filed. the calculator is kinda wonky sometimes. i ended up just waiting to see what they actually approved me for rather than trying to guess

Here's what you need to know: log into your my.ny.gov account and look at your wage history in the NYS Department of Labor system. That will show you exactly what quarters they're using for your base period. The benefit amount is calculated as 1/26th of your highest quarter wages, but there's also a minimum of $104 per week. If you made $52k annually and it was fairly consistent, you're probably looking at around $500 per week assuming your highest quarter was around $13,000.

I was having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to verify my benefit calculation and stumbled across this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that actually got me connected to an agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. The agent was able to explain exactly how my wages were being calculated and why my estimate was different from what I expected. Might be worth checking out if you can't get clear answers from the online calculator.

UGH the whole NYS Department of Labor system is so confusing! Why can't they just have a simple calculator that gives you ONE answer instead of making you guess about base periods and quarters?? I've been unemployed for 2 months and STILL don't understand how they came up with my benefit amount.

just fyi the maximum went up to $504 this year so if you were making decent money you'll probably hit that cap. also remember you gotta pay taxes on unemployment benefits so factor that in when budgeting

As someone who just went through this process, I can confirm what others have said about checking your wage history in my.ny.gov - that's the most reliable way to see exactly what the DOL is using for your calculation. One thing that caught me off guard was that they use your gross wages from your W-2, not your take-home pay. Also, if you had any significant raises or bonuses during your employment, those might have pushed one quarter higher than others, which would affect your weekly benefit amount. The 1/26th rule is straightforward once you identify your highest quarter correctly.