NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits - is unemployment federal funded or state funded?
I'm really confused about where my unemployment money is actually coming from. My cousin in Florida says her unemployment is federally funded but I'm getting mine through NYS Department of Labor. Does that mean New York unemployment benefits come from federal taxes or state taxes? I'm trying to understand this for my tax planning and whether I should expect any differences in how long benefits last. Been on unemployment for 6 weeks now and want to make sure I understand the system correctly.
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Emma Wilson
Actually it's a combination of both federal and state funding. Your NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits come from a state unemployment trust fund that's funded by employer payroll taxes paid to the state. However, the federal government provides oversight and some emergency funding during high unemployment periods. The basic 26 weeks of regular UI benefits in New York are funded entirely by state employer taxes, not federal income taxes.
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Javier Gomez
•Oh wow, so my employer was paying into this fund the whole time I was working? That makes me feel less guilty about claiming benefits.
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Malik Thomas
yeah its state funded but federal govt sets alot of the rules thats why every state has different benefit amounts but similar requirements like job search stuff
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Isabella Oliveira
Your cousin might be thinking of the pandemic programs like PUA and PEUC that were federally funded, but those ended in 2021. Regular unemployment insurance has always been a state program funded by state employer taxes. The federal Department of Labor provides guidance and oversight, but NYS Department of Labor administers and funds the actual benefits from the New York State unemployment trust fund.
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Ravi Kapoor
•Wait, so during COVID there were federal unemployment programs? I thought all unemployment was the same. This is so confusing!
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Isabella Oliveira
•Yes, during the pandemic there were special federal programs, but those are gone now. Currently if you're filing through NYS Department of Labor, you're getting regular state unemployment insurance funded by New York employer contributions.
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Freya Larsen
I had so much trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about my claim status last month. Spent hours on hold trying to understand my adjudication delay. Finally found this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that actually got me connected to a real agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me so much frustration dealing with the phone system.
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Javier Gomez
•How does that work exactly? I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for two weeks about a question on my weekly claim.
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GalacticGladiator
This whole system is such a mess honestly. Whether it's state or federal funded doesn't matter when you can't even get through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor to get basic questions answered. I've been dealing with an overpayment notice for months and still don't understand how they calculated it.
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Omar Zaki
Thanks for asking this! I was wondering the same thing when I saw different unemployment rates mentioned for different states on the news.
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