NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefit increase - when will the $600 be added to weekly payments?
I've been hearing about a $600 increase to unemployment benefits but I'm not seeing it reflected in my weekly NYS Department of Labor payments yet. My regular UI amount is $420 per week and I was told there would be additional federal money on top of that. Does anyone know when this kicks in? I filed my weekly claim yesterday and it's still showing the same amount. Is there something I need to do to get the extra money or does NYS Department of Labor add it automatically?
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AstroAce
The $600 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) ended in July 2020. There currently isn't any federal supplement being added to regular unemployment benefits in New York. You might be thinking of the old CARES Act benefits that expired years ago. Your regular NYS Department of Labor benefit amount is what you'll receive unless there's new federal legislation.
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Andre Laurent
•Wait really? I thought I read something recent about extra money. Are you sure there's nothing new coming?
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Zoe Kyriakidou
yeah i think you're confused about old news. the $600 thing was during covid and that's long gone. unless congress passes something new there's no extra money coming
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Jamal Brown
Just to clarify - there are no current federal supplements to unemployment benefits. The $600 FPUC was a temporary pandemic program. Your NYS Department of Labor weekly benefit amount is based on your earnings history and that's what you'll receive. If you're having trouble making ends meet on your current benefit amount, you might want to look into other assistance programs like SNAP or utility assistance.
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Andre Laurent
•Thanks for explaining. I guess I saw some old article and got my hopes up. $420 a week is really tough to live on but I appreciate the clarification.
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Mei Zhang
If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor to ask questions about your benefits, I had good luck using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Way better than sitting on hold for hours trying to get answers about my claim status.
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Liam McConnell
•How much does something like that cost? I'm already tight on money
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Mei Zhang
•It's worth checking out their site for current info. For me it was definitely worth it to actually talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor instead of being stuck in phone hell.
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Amara Oluwaseyi
The whole unemployment system is so confusing. I keep seeing different information online and never know what's current. Wish NYS Department of Labor would just send clear updates about what benefits are available.
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Kevin Bell
•I totally agree! The misinformation online is really frustrating. I think part of the problem is that old articles about the $600 FPUC from 2020-2021 still show up in search results, so people think it's current news. NYS Department of Labor's website could definitely do a better job of having a clear "current benefits" section that's easy to find.
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AstroAce
I can understand the confusion - there's definitely a lot of outdated information floating around about unemployment benefits. As others have mentioned, the $600 FPUC was a temporary COVID-era benefit that ended years ago. Currently, your NYS Department of Labor benefit is calculated based on your work history and that's what you'll receive. If you need help with other aspects of your claim or have questions about eligibility, the NYS DOL website has a good FAQ section, though I know it can be hard to navigate sometimes. Hang in there!
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Jeremiah Brown
•Thanks for all the helpful info everyone! I'm new to navigating unemployment benefits and it's definitely overwhelming trying to figure out what's current vs outdated information. I appreciate you all taking the time to clarify - saved me from getting my hopes up about money that isn't coming. The NYS DOL website is pretty confusing but at least now I know what to expect with my weekly payments.
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Nia Thompson
I went through the same confusion when I first started collecting benefits! It's really frustrating how many outdated articles pop up when you search for unemployment info. Just to echo what others have said - your $420/week is your current benefit amount and there's no additional federal money right now. One tip that helped me: bookmark the official NYS DOL website and try to get info directly from there rather than random news articles. The system automatically calculates your weekly benefit, so you don't need to do anything special to get what you're entitled to. Good luck with everything!
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