NYS Department of Labor how much is unemployment per week 2024 - confused about benefit amounts
I'm trying to figure out how much unemployment benefits I can expect per week in New York for 2024. I was laid off from my restaurant job where I made about $18/hour working roughly 35 hours a week. I've been looking at the NYS Department of Labor website but it's confusing with all the different calculations. Can anyone explain in simple terms what the weekly benefit amount would be? I need to budget for my rent and bills while I'm job searching.
11 comments
Join the conversation
Miguel Ramos
The weekly benefit amount in NY for 2024 is calculated as 50% of your average weekly wage during your base period, up to a maximum of $504 per week. Your base period is typically the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you filed. So if you were making $18/hour for 35 hours, that's $630 per week gross. Half of that would be $315 per week in unemployment benefits, assuming you worked consistently during your base period.
0 coins
Ava Martinez
•Thank you! That helps a lot. I worked pretty consistently for the past year so I think I should qualify for close to that amount. Do they take taxes out of the $315 or is that the amount I'd actually receive?
0 coins
QuantumQuasar
Just went through this myself last month. You can choose to have federal taxes withheld (10%) when you file your weekly claims on the NYS Department of Labor website. If you don't, you'll owe taxes when you file your return next year. I'd recommend having them take it out - makes things easier at tax time.
0 coins
Zainab Omar
•good advice! i learned this the hard way last year when i got a huge tax bill
0 coins
Connor Gallagher
The maximum went up to $504 in 2024 but most people don't hit that unless they were making really good money. Your calculation sounds about right at $315/week. Just make sure you're doing your job search requirements - you need to make at least 3 job contacts per week and keep a log or they'll cut off your benefits.
0 coins
Yara Sayegh
I had so much trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about my benefit amount calculation. Kept getting busy signals and their online chat never worked. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me actually talk to a real person at the unemployment office. They have a video demo showing how it works at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. Really saved me a lot of frustration trying to get answers about my weekly benefit amount.
0 coins
Ava Martinez
•That's interesting - I haven't heard of that service before. Is it legitimate? I'm worried about giving out personal information to third parties.
0 coins
Yara Sayegh
•Yeah it's legit - they don't actually need your personal info, they just help you get through the phone queues to talk to the actual NYS Department of Labor agents. Worth checking out the video demo to see how it works.
0 coins
Keisha Johnson
wait so if i was making $25/hour full time that would be $1000/week which means id get $500? but you said the max is $504 so id get $504 right??
0 coins
Miguel Ramos
•Exactly right! If your calculation comes out to more than $504, you get capped at the maximum of $504 per week.
0 coins
Paolo Longo
The whole unemployment system is so confusing honestly. I've been on it twice and still don't fully understand how they calculate everything. At least the weekly claim filing is pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it.
0 coins