NYS Department of Labor claim approved - when was unemployment the lowest in recent years?
Just got my unemployment claim approved after waiting 6 weeks for adjudication! Super relieved since I was getting worried about paying rent. Got me thinking though - my friend mentioned that unemployment rates were really low before COVID hit. Does anyone know when unemployment was at its lowest point in NY? Just curious since I've never had to file for UI benefits before and wondering if this is normal timing for getting approved or if the system is still backed up from when unemployment spiked.
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Freya Larsen
Congratulations on getting approved! To answer your question - unemployment hit historic lows around 2019-2020, right before the pandemic. NY's rate was around 3.8% which was the lowest since the 1970s. The system got completely overwhelmed in 2020 when unemployment shot up to over 15%, so yes there are still some delays with adjudication even now in 2025.
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Ravi Kapoor
•Thanks! That makes sense why my claim took so long then. The NYS Department of Labor rep I finally spoke with said they're still working through backlogs.
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GalacticGladiator
6 weeks is actually pretty good timing these days. I filed in December and mine took 8 weeks to get through adjudication. The low unemployment years were crazy - companies were practically begging people to work. Now with layoffs happening again, more people are filing claims.
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Omar Zaki
•Same here, took forever to get my weekly claims processed. At least the my.ny.gov system works better now than it did during the worst of it.
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Chloe Taylor
If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor by phone for any follow-up questions, I used claimyr.com recently and it actually got me through to a real person in like 20 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Way better than sitting on hold for hours.
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Ravi Kapoor
•Interesting, I'll keep that in mind if I run into any issues with my weekly certifications. Thanks for sharing!
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Diego Flores
congrats!! i remember 2019 when literally everywhere was hiring and unemployment was super low. now its the opposite lol. did you have to do the job search requirements during your adjudication or do those start after approval?
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Ravi Kapoor
•Job search requirements start after approval. I have to log 3 job contacts per week now that my claim is active.
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Anastasia Ivanova
The 'good old days' of low unemployment feel like a lifetime ago. Glad you got approved though - the waiting is the worst part of this whole process.
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