Is unemployment weekly pay consistent or does NYS Department of Labor amount change?
I just got approved for unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor and I'm confused about the payment schedule. Do they pay the same amount every week or does it vary? My first payment was $372 but I want to make sure this stays consistent so I can budget properly. Also wondering if there are any weeks where they don't pay at all? I'm new to this whole process and trying to understand how the weekly payments work.
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Omar Mahmoud
Your weekly benefit amount stays the same throughout your benefit year as long as you continue to meet eligibility requirements. The $372 you received will be your standard weekly amount. However, you need to file your weekly claim certification every week to continue receiving payments. If you miss filing or don't meet the work search requirements, that week won't be paid.
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Freya Nielsen
•That's helpful! So I need to file something every week? I thought it was automatic after the first approval.
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Chloe Harris
yeah you have to certify every week on the my.ny.gov website, usually available sunday nights. if you forget to do it you lose that weeks payment and cant go back to claim it later
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Diego Vargas
•Actually that's not entirely correct - you can request backdating for missed weeks in some circumstances, but it requires contacting NYS Department of Labor directly and explaining why you missed the certification deadline.
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NeonNinja
The weekly amount can change if you have part-time work during any week. They reduce your benefit based on how much you earn, but there's a small amount you can make without any reduction. I think it's like $143 or something around there for 2025.
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Anastasia Popov
•I was having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask about this exact thing - the partial work rules. Kept getting busy signals for weeks. Finally used claimyr.com to get connected to an actual agent and they explained the whole partial benefit calculation. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really saved me a lot of frustration trying to call on my own.
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Freya Nielsen
•Thanks for that info! I might need to work part-time so good to know there's some wiggle room before they reduce the payment.
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Sean Murphy
Just remember you also have to do job search activities every week and keep records of it. They can audit your job search log at any time and if you don't have the required contacts, they'll disqualify you and demand repayment of benefits. The requirements are pretty specific about what counts as a valid job contact.
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Freya Nielsen
•How many job contacts do I need per week? And what exactly counts as a valid contact?
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Omar Mahmoud
•For most people it's 3 job contacts per week. Valid contacts include applying for jobs, contacting employers directly, attending job fairs, or networking activities. Just browsing job sites doesn't count - you need to actually apply or make contact.
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