How much will my unemployment benefits be from NYS Department of Labor?
I just lost my job last week and I'm trying to figure out what will my unemployment be when I file my claim. I worked for about 18 months making $52,000 a year at a marketing company in Albany. Does anyone know how NYS Department of Labor calculates the weekly benefit amount? I've never filed for unemployment before and I'm really stressed about making ends meet while I look for another job. The my.ny.gov website has all these formulas but I can't make sense of them.
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Amara Okafor
NYS Department of Labor uses your highest quarter earnings from your base period to calculate your weekly benefit rate. For your salary level, you're probably looking at around $400-450 per week maximum. They take 26 weeks of your highest quarter and divide by 26, but there's a cap. You can use the benefit calculator on the my.ny.gov site or call to get an exact estimate.
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Liam Murphy
•Thanks! I tried the calculator but got confused about which quarters count as my base period. Is it the last 4 quarters I worked or something different?
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CaptainAwesome
the base period is tricky - its not your last 4 quarters but the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. so if you file in january 2025 your base period would be april 2023 through march 2024. i made that mistake when i first applied
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Yuki Tanaka
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor by phone to get your exact benefit calculation, I had success using Claimyr (claimyr.com) when I needed to speak to someone about my benefit amount. They helped me get connected to an actual agent who walked through my calculation. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Much easier than sitting on hold for hours.
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Esmeralda Gómez
•Never heard of that service before but honestly anything is better than trying to get through the regular phone lines. Did they charge you a lot?
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Yuki Tanaka
•They don't require any personal info upfront and the focus is just getting you connected to NYS Department of Labor agents. Way less frustrating than the usual calling experience.
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Klaus Schmidt
Just remember the maximum weekly benefit in NY is $504 right now but most people don't get the max unless they were making really good money. Your $52k should put you somewhere in the middle range. Also make sure you file ASAP because there's a waiting week.
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Aisha Patel
ugh the whole system is so confusing! I went through this last year and even after getting approved I still wasn't sure if I was getting the right amount. The NYS Department of Labor really needs to make their calculations clearer for regular people.
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Liam Murphy
•Right?? I feel like I need an accounting degree just to understand what my benefits will be. This is stressful enough without having to decode government formulas.
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Khalid Howes
I went through a similar situation a few months ago - lost my job at a tech startup in Rochester making about $48k. The base period calculation that CaptainAwesome mentioned is spot on, but here's what really helped me: I gathered all my pay stubs from the relevant quarters before calling or using the online calculator. Having your exact quarterly earnings makes the whole process way clearer. Also, don't stress too much about the exact amount beforehand - once you file, they'll send you a monetary determination letter that breaks down exactly how they calculated your benefits. The important thing is to file as soon as possible since you can't get benefits for weeks before you apply. Good luck with the job search!
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Liam Duke
•This is really helpful advice! I definitely don't have all my pay stubs organized - I should probably dig those up before I call. Quick question though - when you say "quarters," do you mean like January-March, April-June, etc.? And did you find the monetary determination letter easy to understand when you got it, or was it still confusing?
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Anastasia Sokolov
•Yes, exactly - quarters are January-March (Q1), April-June (Q2), July-September (Q3), and October-December (Q4). The monetary determination letter was actually pretty clear once I got it - it shows your base period wages quarter by quarter and then the math they used. Much easier to understand than trying to figure it out beforehand! One tip: if you can't find all your pay stubs, you can also log into your my.ny.gov account and sometimes see your wage history there, or request wage transcripts from employers if needed.
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Nia Harris
Hey Liam, I totally understand the stress you're going through - I was in a similar boat about a year ago when I got laid off from my job at a nonprofit in Syracuse. One thing that really helped me was calling the NYS Department of Labor's customer service line early in the morning (like right when they open at 8 AM) to avoid the worst of the hold times. The rep I spoke with was actually really patient and walked me through the whole calculation step by step. With your $52k salary, you're probably looking at somewhere in the $380-420 range per week, but definitely file your claim first and let them do the official calculation. The waiting is the worst part, but once you get that first payment it's such a relief. Also, start applying for jobs right away if you haven't already - NY requires you to be actively searching and it helps with the stress to feel like you're taking action. Hang in there!
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