How to reach a real person at NY unemployment - constant busy signals

The official NYSDOL phone lines are completely swamped right now. There's a few things you can try: 1. Call right when they open at 8:00 AM - like literally be dialing at 7:59 2. Try the alternate claim center number: 888-209-8124 (sometimes less busy) 3. Keep trying multiple times per day - sometimes it takes 20+ attempts 4. Use their online messaging system through your NY.gov account Unfortunately this is happening to a lot of people. The system gets overwhelmed toward the beginning of each month when new claims spike.

omg its impossible to reach them!! i tried calling 36 TIMES yesterday before i finally got put on hold, then waited 2 hours just to be disconnected when i finally reached the front of the queue. the whole system is a joke

After weeks of struggling to reach them through the regular channels, I finally tried Claimyr (claimyr.com) and it actually worked. It's a service that calls NYSDOL for you and then connects you when they get through to an agent. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE I was skeptical at first, but I was desperate after trying for 3 weeks to file my claim. They got me through to an agent in about 45 minutes, which saved me from spending hours redialing. The agent was able to complete my claim and fix an issue that was preventing me from certifying weekly.

I've been through this nightmare multiple times! Calling at exactly 8:00 AM used to work, but now everyone does that so the lines are jammed instantly. What worked for me last time was calling on Wednesday afternoons around 2:30-3:00 PM. For some reason there was a slight dip in call volume then. Also, make sure you're calling from a phone with good reception. If your call drops while you're on hold after waiting for an hour, you'll want to throw your phone across the room (speaking from experience!

The ENTIRE SYSTEM is designed to make it impossible to talk to anyone!!! They WANT us to give up so they don't have to pay benefits!!! I spent TWO WEEKS trying to get through last month. The only thing that worked was sending an email to my state assembly member's office. They have direct contacts at NYSDOL and got someone to call me back within 3 days. Try reaching out to your local rep!

I second the recommendation for Claimyr if you're desperate. I used them last month when I couldn't get through for two weeks straight. The agent told me they were getting over 300,000 calls a day to the unemployment office.

try calling at 8am but not on a monday! mondays are the WORST day ever to call. also if you get into the system but then it says all agents are busy, STAY ON THE LINE even if it tells you to call back later sometimes it will put you in queue anyway

Just a helpful tip for when you do get through: Make sure you have ALL your documentation ready before the call. They'll need your past employer info, dates of employment, reason for separation, etc. Having it all prepared will save you time and prevent you from having to call back if you don't have something they ask for. Also, be prepared to answer security questions about your identity - they've increased verification measures because of fraud.

my sister works for the unemployment office (not in NY but another state) and she said they're all working mandatory overtime and still can't keep up with the call volume. it's not that they're trying to avoid people, they're just overwhelmed. sometimes the computer system goes down too which makes everything worse.

Update on my situation: I finally got my claim processed after speaking with an agent. For those considering Claimyr, here's my experience - I tried calling for days with no luck, then used their service and got connected in about 40 minutes. The agent was able to resolve my issues quickly once I got through. It saved me days of frustration.

Some additional advice: 1. When you do get through, be extremely polite to the agent. They've been dealing with frustrated callers all day and being respectful can make a big difference in how much they're willing to help. 2. Ask for a reference number or confirmation at the end of your call. This way if you need to call back, you can reference your previous conversation. 3. If your claim has any special circumstances (like working out of state or for multiple employers), mention this right away so they can transfer you to a specialized agent if needed. 4. Keep a log of all your call attempts with dates and times. This could be useful if there's ever a dispute about whether you made reasonable efforts to file on time.

Thank you all for the helpful advice! I tried calling right at 8:00 AM this morning and actually got through after about a 45 minute wait! The agent was able to process my claim and explained that they're dealing with a system upgrade that's causing some of the phone issues. For anyone else struggling to get through, calling right when they open really does seem to work better. I'm so relieved to have this taken care of finally.

So glad you were able to get through! This gives me hope that persistence really does pay off. I've been struggling with the same issue for the past few days and was getting really discouraged. Going to try the 8 AM approach tomorrow and keep my fingers crossed. Thanks for coming back to update us with your success - it's really encouraging to hear that someone actually made it through the system!

I've been dealing with this exact same nightmare! What finally worked for me was a combination of strategies from this thread. I called right at 8:00 AM on a Wednesday (avoiding Monday like Diego suggested) and got through on my 7th attempt. The key was staying persistent but also strategic about timing. One thing I learned - if you get that "call back later" message, try waiting exactly 30 seconds and calling again. Sometimes there's a brief window when someone hangs up and a line opens. Also, I kept multiple phones ready so I could redial faster. The whole process took about 3 hours of calling attempts over two days, but once I got through, the agent was actually really helpful and got everything sorted in 15 minutes. Don't lose hope - the system is broken but people ARE getting through!

I've been following this thread closely because I'm in the exact same boat - tried calling for over a week with nothing but busy signals and that frustrating "call back later" message. Reading everyone's experiences here has been both reassuring (I'm not alone!) and helpful for strategy. I'm planning to try the 8 AM approach tomorrow, but I'm also considering the Claimyr service that Anastasia mentioned since I'm getting pretty desperate. Has anyone else here actually used it successfully? The video explanation looks legit but I'm still a bit hesitant about using a third-party service for something this important. Also, for those who did get through - about how long was the actual call with the agent once connected? I want to make sure I block out enough time and have a quiet space ready. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, this community support really helps during such a stressful situation!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with the same issue and have been calling for days with no success. Reading through everyone's experiences makes me feel less alone in this frustrating situation. I'm going to try the 8 AM strategy tomorrow morning, armed with multiple phones and the 30-second redial tip from Giovanni. If that doesn't work after a few days, I might consider the Claimyr service since multiple people here have had success with it. One question for those who got through - did you notice any difference in wait times or success rates between calling the main number versus the alternate number (888-209-8124) that Chloe mentioned? I want to maximize my chances and I'm willing to try both if needed. Thanks to everyone for sharing their strategies and experiences. It's so reassuring to know that people are actually getting through, even if it takes persistence!

I've been lurking on this thread for a few days while dealing with the same exact problem - constant busy signals and that infuriating "call back later" message. Finally decided to create an account to share what worked for me today! After reading all the advice here, I tried the 8 AM strategy this morning and FINALLY got through on my 12th attempt! The key things that helped: - Started dialing at 7:59:45 and hit send right at 8:00 - Used the 30-second redial strategy Giovanni mentioned - Had my landline and cell phone both ready to alternate calls - Stayed persistent even after getting busy signals the first 11 times Once I got into the queue, I waited about 1 hour and 10 minutes on hold, but the agent was fantastic. She got my entire claim processed in about 18 minutes and even helped me understand the weekly certification process. For anyone still struggling - don't give up! This thread gave me the strategies and motivation I needed to keep trying. The system is definitely overwhelmed but people ARE getting through. Having all your documents ready beforehand really speeds things up once you're connected. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and tips. This community support made all the difference during such a stressful time! 🙏

I just want to echo what everyone else has said - this thread has been a lifesaver! I was about to give up completely after a week of getting nowhere, but seeing all these success stories gave me hope to keep trying. For anyone still struggling, here's what I learned from reading through all these experiences: **Best times to call:** Right at 8:00 AM (start dialing at 7:59), or Wednesday afternoons 2:30-3:00 PM **Avoid:** Monday mornings (highest call volume) **Strategy:** Be prepared for 10-20+ redial attempts, use the 30-second rule between calls, have multiple phones ready **Backup options:** Alternate number 888-209-8124, contact your state assembly rep, or consider Claimyr service if you're really stuck The most important thing I learned is that persistence really does pay off. Almost everyone who kept trying eventually got through, even if it took days. The agents are actually helpful once you reach them - it's just getting past that initial phone bottleneck that's the challenge. Thank you to everyone who shared their strategies and came back to update us with their results. This kind of community support makes such a difficult situation more bearable! 🙏

I'm in the exact same boat as everyone here! Been trying to get through for 6 days now and it's been absolutely maddening. This thread is like finding gold - finally some real strategies that actually work instead of the useless "try calling later" advice on the official website. Based on everything I've read here, my game plan for tomorrow is: 1. Set three alarms for 7:58 AM and have both my cell and landline ready 2. Start dialing at 7:59:45 like Vanessa suggested 3. Be prepared for at least 15-20 redial attempts using Giovanni's 30-second rule 4. Have ALL my documents organized and ready (W2s, employer info, dates, etc.) 5. If morning fails, try the Wednesday afternoon 2:30-3:00 PM window The fact that multiple people here have actually gotten through using these exact methods gives me so much hope. I was seriously considering just giving up, but seeing Vanessa succeed on her 12th attempt today and CosmicCrusader's success story shows it really can happen. One quick question for those who got through - did you notice any pattern with which redial attempt was successful? Was it usually in the first few tries or did it tend to be after many attempts? Just trying to mentally prepare myself for the marathon tomorrow! Thanks to this amazing community for sharing real solutions. You've all been more helpful than any official government resource! 🙏