How to get more unemployment money - NYS Department of Labor benefit amount questions
I've been collecting unemployment for 6 weeks now and only getting $320 per week which isn't enough to cover my rent and bills. I worked at a restaurant for 2 years making around $18/hour but they calculated my benefit way lower than I expected. Is there any way to get more unemployment money from NYS Department of Labor? I heard some people get like $500+ per week but I don't understand how the calculation works. My account just shows the amount but no breakdown of how they got that number.
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Ava Thompson
Your weekly benefit amount is based on your highest quarter of earnings in your base period, which is typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you filed. NYS Department of Labor takes your highest quarter wages and divides by 26 to get your weekly benefit rate. The maximum for 2025 is $504 per week. If you think they miscalculated, you can request a monetary redetermination by calling or submitting a request through your online account.
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Dmitry Kuznetsov
•Thanks! How do I know what quarters they used? I can't find that info anywhere in my account and when I try calling NYS Department of Labor I just get disconnected after being on hold forever.
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Miguel Ramos
same issue here, only getting $280/week and its not nearly enough!! the whole system is broken
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Zainab Ibrahim
•If you can't get through by phone, I used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to actually reach a NYS Department of Labor agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Finally got my benefit amount issue resolved after weeks of trying to call myself.
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StarSailor
Did you report all your income correctly when you filed? Sometimes if you had multiple jobs or didn't report tips properly it can affect your base period wages. Also make sure NYS Department of Labor has your complete work history - sometimes employers don't report wages correctly to the state.
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Dmitry Kuznetsov
•I did report my tips but maybe not all of them since we got cash tips too. Could that be why my amount is so low?
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Ava Thompson
•Yes, unreported cash tips won't be included in your base period wages since NYS Department of Labor only counts what's officially reported to the state. Unfortunately you can't add unreported income after the fact.
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Connor O'Brien
The calculation is confusing but there's also something called the alternative base period if your regular base period doesn't give you enough. You might want to ask about that when you contact them. Also double check that they have all your employers listed correctly - I had an issue where one of my jobs wasn't showing up and it increased my benefit amount once they added it.
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Dmitry Kuznetsov
•What's the alternative base period? Is that something I have to request specifically?
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