NYS Department of Labor benefits - decrease prices due to decreased spending affecting my job search
My unemployment claim got approved two months ago and I've been getting my weekly benefits, but I'm really struggling with the job search requirements because everything is so expensive right now. The decrease prices due to decreased spending that everyone talks about isn't happening in my area - gas, food, everything costs more which makes it harder to travel for interviews. I've applied to over 40 jobs and had 3 interviews but no offers yet. My NYS Department of Labor job search log is full but I'm worried they'll think I'm not trying hard enough. Has anyone else dealt with this situation where the economy makes job searching more expensive? I don't want to lose my benefits but I'm barely making ends meet even with unemployment.
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Hiroshi Nakamura
The job search requirements are 3 contacts per week minimum, and you're clearly exceeding that with 40 applications over 2 months. Keep documenting everything in your job search log - dates, company names, how you applied, any responses. The NYS Department of Labor looks at consistent effort, not just results. If you're having trouble affording travel to interviews, you might qualify for job search assistance programs through your local One-Stop center.
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GamerGirl99
•Thank you! I didn't know about the One-Stop assistance programs. I'll look into that right away.
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Isabella Costa
same boat here, applied to 60+ jobs since march and still looking. the economy is rough right now and employers are being super picky. just keep documenting everything and dont give up
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Malik Jenkins
•It's so frustrating! I feel like I'm doing everything right but nothing is working out.
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Freya Andersen
I had a similar situation last year where I was spending more on job searching than I expected. What helped me was using claimyr.com to get through to an actual NYS Department of Labor agent when I had questions about my job search requirements. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. The agent was able to clarify exactly what they needed in my job search log and gave me some tips about local resources I didn't know about. Much easier than trying to call the regular number and getting hung up on.
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GamerGirl99
•I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for weeks about this exact question! I'll check out that service, thanks for sharing.
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Eduardo Silva
•How much does claimyr cost though? If money's already tight...
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Freya Andersen
•It's worth checking their site for current info. For me, getting clear answers about my requirements was really valuable since I was worried about losing benefits.
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Leila Haddad
The whole system is set up to make us fail! They expect us to spend money we don't have on job searching while giving us barely enough to survive. And then they wonder why people can't find work fast enough. The decrease in prices they promised never happened - everything just keeps getting more expensive while benefits stay the same.
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Emma Johnson
•yeah but complaining won't help with the job search requirements unfortunately
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