NY Unemployment website completely down - anyone else getting system error?

Same here! Been trying since 7am and keep getting that stupid error. Called the helpline but of course it's just an automated message saying they're experiencing high call volumes 🙄 typical ny unemployment bs

After dealing with the same nightmare for weeks, I finally found a solution that worked for me. Used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual human at unemployment. They held my place in line and called me when they had an agent on the phone. Best money I've spent to get my benefits flowing again! They even have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

The website has been crashing every Monday morning for the past month. I've found it usually starts working again around 3-4pm when less people are trying to log in. Annoying af but if you can wait until tonight you'll probably get through.

THIS IS A MAJOR ISSUE AFFECTING EVERYONE RIGHT NOW! I work at a community center helping people with unemployment claims and we've had dozens of calls about this today. There seems to be a system-wide outage. According to my sources, they're doing an unplanned emergency maintenance due to some security issues discovered over the weekend. They haven't officially announced it because they don't want to cause panic. Try again tomorrow morning - should be resolved by then.

Tip from someone who's been through the NY unemployment hellscape for 5 months: when the website is down like this, sometimes you can still certify by phone! Call 1-888-581-5812 and follow the prompts. It's not great but it works when the site is having a meltdown.

Let me tell you what's actually happening. I've been dealing with NY unemployment for over a year now and know how this works. The system crashes EVERY Monday morning between 7am-12pm because their ancient computer system cant handle everyone trying to certify at once. The site is running on technology from like 1997 that they never bothered to upgrade. Best solution is to either certify late Sunday night or wait until Monday evening when traffic dies down. It's been this way forever and they'll never fix it because... well... it's government 🤡

For anyone struggling to reach a human when dealing with ny unemployment system issues, I highly recommend checking out Claimyr.com - it's a service that waits on hold for you and calls you when a real person is on the line. Changed my life when I was dealing with my identity theft issue. Seriously, getting a human on the phone is the ONLY way to resolve complicated issues with unemployment.

I managed to get on the website by using my phone data instead of wifi!!! Try turning off your wifi and using cellular data - worked for me just now!

Its not just you. The entire system seems to be haveing issues today. I checked their twitter and theres tons of people reporting the same error. typical NY unemployment failing when we need it most

When the website is down like this, your best option is to get someone on the phone. After dealing with this BS for months, I learned that talking to a real person is the only way to solve ANYTHING with unemployment. I had the best luck with claimyr.com - they got me connected to an agent when I couldn't get through on my own. The agent was able to process my certification over the phone and even fixed another issue I had been trying to resolve for weeks.

I literally JUST got through on the website after trying all morning. Seems like whatever was broken is starting to work again. Keep trying every 30 mins or so.

Has anyone tried using a VPN? Sometimes these government websites have weird IP blocks that mess things up. I got around a similar issue with the tax website using a VPN set to another state.

Update from the NY DOL: They just posted on Twitter that they're experiencing technical difficulties and working to resolve them ASAP. No ETA provided (of course). https://twitter.com/NYSLabor

I've been dealing with NY unemployment issues for over a year now and have learned a LOT about how to navigate this broken system. Here's what you need to know when facing website issues: - Monday mornings are ALWAYS the worst time to try to access the system. Everyone tries to certify at once and crashes the servers. Try late Sunday night or Monday evening instead. - If you absolutely must certify and the website is down, the phone system sometimes still works: 1-888-581-5812 - Clear your browser cache/cookies before trying again - Try a different browser (Edge seems to work better than Chrome with their site for some reason) - If you're dealing with an urgent issue (payment stopped, account locked, etc) and need to talk to a human, you'll save yourself hours of frustration by using Claimyr.com - they'll wait on hold and get you connected to an actual agent - Document EVERYTHING - dates you tried to certify, screenshot errors, note who you spoke with - If you miss your certification window due to their system being down, explain that when you do reach someone. They can backdate your certification. The NY unemployment system is deliberately difficult to navigate, but there are ways around the obstacles if you know the tricks. Hope this helps someone!

another day, another unemployment website disaster 🤦‍♂️ why am I not surprised

I'm a web developer and I can tell you their site has terrible load balancing. When everyone tries to certify at the same time on Monday morning, their servers can't handle it. Try again later tonight - looking at historical patterns, it usually comes back online around 4-5pm.

Guys I just got through by using my phone's cellular data instead of WiFi AND using incognito mode on my browser. Don't know which one fixed it but I'm finally able to certify!

If you absolutely need to reach someone at NY unemployment today, I'd recommend using claimyr.com - saved me hours of frustration last month when my account got flagged for verification. They wait on hold so you don't have to, then call you when they have an agent on the line. Talking to a real person is the only way to get anything fixed quickly in this broken system.

Just wanted to give everyone an update - I finally got through around 2pm using the cellular data trick that @Zoe Christodoulou mentioned! Had to turn off WiFi and use incognito mode in Chrome. Took a few tries but it worked. For anyone still stuck, I also noticed the site seems to load faster if you go directly to the certification page URL instead of logging in through the main homepage. Hope this helps someone else avoid the headache I've been dealing with all morning!

Thanks for all the tips everyone! I've been refreshing the page for hours and was about to give up. Just tried the cellular data + incognito mode combo and it FINALLY worked! 🙌 For anyone still having issues, I also noticed that if you get the error message, don't immediately refresh - wait about 30 seconds before trying again. Seems like their system temporarily blocks you if you hit refresh too quickly. This whole situation is ridiculous but at least I can pay my bills this week. Keeping my fingers crossed that they actually fix their ancient system one of these days...

Just went through the same thing this morning! Started trying to certify at 6am and kept getting that "systems currently not available" error. Finally got through about 20 minutes ago using a combination of the tips mentioned here - switched to cellular data, used incognito mode, and waited 30 seconds between attempts instead of immediately refreshing. It's absolutely ridiculous that we need these workarounds just to access a basic service we're entitled to. Really hope they invest some of that budget into upgrading their Stone Age servers because this happens way too frequently. At least I can breathe easier knowing my certification went through before the deadline!

Just experienced the same nightmare! Been trying since 5am and kept getting that error message over and over. Finally got through about an hour ago using the cellular data + incognito mode trick that several people mentioned here. Had to turn off my WiFi completely and use Chrome's incognito window. Took about 5 tries with 30-second waits between attempts but it eventually worked. It's absolutely insane that in 2025 we still have to deal with a government website that crashes every single Monday morning like clockwork. Thanks to everyone who shared their workarounds - you literally saved my week since I desperately needed to get my certification in before the deadline. Bookmarking this thread for future reference because we all know this is going to happen again next Monday 🙄

This is so frustrating! I've been trying since 6am and getting the same error message. Really stressing about making rent this month if I can't get my certification through today. Going to try the cellular data + incognito mode trick that people mentioned - fingers crossed it works! Has anyone had luck calling that phone number someone posted earlier (1-888-581-5812)? Willing to try anything at this point 😭

Been dealing with the same issue since 7am! The cellular data + incognito mode trick finally worked for me about 10 minutes ago. Had to try it 4 times with 30-second waits between attempts, but persistence paid off. For anyone still stuck - make sure to completely disable WiFi (not just disconnect) and clear your browser cache first. Also found that going directly to the certification URL works better than logging in through the main page. It's ridiculous we need these workarounds but at least there are solutions. Hang in there everyone - you'll get through eventually! 🤞

Same exact issue here! Been trying to certify since 6am and keep getting that "systems currently not available" error. This is my first time dealing with NY unemployment and I had no idea the system was this unreliable. Really appreciate everyone sharing their workarounds - just tried the cellular data + incognito mode trick that multiple people mentioned and it worked on my second attempt! Had to completely turn off WiFi and wait 30 seconds between tries, but finally got through. It's absolutely wild that we need these hacks just to access basic government services in 2025, but at least this community has each other's backs. Definitely saving all these tips for next Monday because let's be honest, this will probably happen again 😅

I'm dealing with the exact same issue! Been trying since 5:30am and keep getting that infuriating "systems currently not available" message. This is so stressful when you're counting on these benefits to make ends meet. I'm new to New York and had no idea their unemployment system was this broken - coming from California where their site actually worked most of the time! Just tried the cellular data + incognito mode trick that everyone's mentioning and it worked on my fourth attempt! Had to completely disable WiFi, clear my browser cache, wait 30 seconds between tries, and go directly to the certification page URL. It's absolutely ridiculous that we need these elaborate workarounds just to access something we're legally entitled to, but I'm just grateful this community exists to share solutions. For anyone still stuck - don't give up! The persistence is worth it once you finally get through. And thank you to everyone sharing these tips - you're literally helping people pay their bills! 🙏

Just went through this exact same nightmare! Started trying to certify at 6am and kept getting hit with that "systems currently not available" error message. After reading through all the helpful tips in this thread, I finally got through using the cellular data + incognito mode combo around 1pm. Had to completely turn off WiFi, clear my browser cache, and wait 30 seconds between each attempt - took about 6 tries but it eventually worked! It's honestly mind-blowing that in 2025 we still need these elaborate workarounds just to access a basic government service. The fact that their system crashes like clockwork every Monday morning shows how desperately they need to upgrade their infrastructure. Really grateful for this community sharing solutions though - you all literally helped me avoid a financial crisis this week. Definitely bookmarking all these tips for the inevitable next time this happens! 🤦‍♂️