NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefit amounts - how much do they pay you when you apply for unemployment?
I'm thinking about filing for unemployment since my hours got cut to practically nothing at my retail job. Before I go through the whole process on my.ny.gov, I want to know what I'm looking at money-wise. How much do they actually pay you when you apply for unemployment in NY? I know it's based on your past wages but I have no idea how they calculate it. My highest quarter last year was around $8,200 and I've been making about $15/hour. Should I expect like half my wages or what? Also do you get paid right away or is there a waiting period? Any info would be helpful because I need to figure out if it's even worth the hassle.
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Chris King
NYS Department of Labor calculates your weekly benefit rate using your highest quarter earnings from your base period (usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters). With your highest quarter at $8,200, you'd likely qualify for around $205-220 per week, but they use a formula that looks at your total base period wages too. The maximum weekly benefit for 2025 is $504, but most people get significantly less. You won't get paid for your first waiting week, and then payments start if you're approved and keep filing your weekly claims.
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Amelia Cartwright
•That's actually more than I expected! So after the first week I'd get payments as long as I keep doing the weekly certification thing?
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Rachel Clark
yeah but dont forget about taxes!! they dont automatically take them out so you'll owe at the end of the year unless you elect to have them withheld. also you have to do job searches every week and report any work you do even if its just a few hours
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Amelia Cartwright
•Oh crap I didn't think about taxes. Can I have them take taxes out automatically when I file?
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Chris King
•Yes, you can elect to have 10% federal tax withheld when you file your initial claim or change it later in your my.ny.gov account.
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Zachary Hughes
I had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about my benefit calculation. The phone lines are always busy and the online chat rarely works. If you need to actually talk to someone about your specific situation, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me hours of calling and getting disconnected.
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Mia Alvarez
•Never heard of that but honestly anything is better than trying to call NYS Department of Labor directly. I've been trying for weeks to get through about my adjudication issue.
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Carter Holmes
The benefit estimator on the NYS Department of Labor website is pretty accurate if you want a better idea before filing. Just remember that your benefit year lasts 52 weeks but you're only eligible for up to 26 weeks of payments (unless there are federal extensions). Also make sure you file as soon as possible after becoming unemployed because you can't get benefits for weeks before you file, even if you were eligible.
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Amelia Cartwright
•Good point about filing right away. My hours are getting cut this week so I should probably file now rather than wait to see if it gets worse.
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Sophia Long
just be prepared for the system to be confusing AF. I applied last month and spent forever trying to figure out what they meant by 'base period' and why my claim was pending for adjudication. turns out I had to verify my identity through ID.me which took another week. the whole process is way more complicated than it should be
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Amelia Cartwright
•Ugh that sounds frustrating. Did you eventually get approved though?
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Sophia Long
•yeah finally got approved but it took almost a month from filing to first payment. just be patient and keep filing your weekly claims even while its pending
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A Man D Mortal
One thing to keep in mind is that partial unemployment might be an option for you since your hours got cut rather than being completely laid off. NYS allows you to collect partial benefits if you're working reduced hours, as long as you earn less than your weekly benefit rate. You'd report your earnings each week and they'll reduce your benefit accordingly, but you could still get some assistance. This might be worth looking into since you mentioned your hours were cut to "practically nothing" rather than being completely unemployed. Just make sure to report all earnings honestly when you file your weekly claims.
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Giovanni Rossi
•That's really helpful - I didn't know you could get partial benefits! So if I'm only working like 10 hours a week now instead of my usual 35, I might still qualify for something even though I'm technically still employed? Do you know if there's a minimum number of hours you have to lose to be eligible for partial unemployment?
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Ingrid Larsson
•There's no specific minimum number of hours you have to lose for partial unemployment in NY. What matters is that your weekly earnings are less than your weekly benefit rate plus $50. So if your benefit rate would be around $200-220 (as mentioned earlier), you could earn up to about $250-270 per week and still get some partial benefits. With only 10 hours at $15/hour, you'd be making $150/week, so you'd definitely qualify for partial benefits. The key is being honest about your reduced hours when you file - NYS considers this "underemployment" and it's totally legitimate to apply for partial benefits in this situation.
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