NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits - what percent of income do you actually get?
I'm trying to figure out my weekly benefit amount before I file my claim with NYS Department of Labor. I keep seeing different numbers online about what percentage of your income unemployment pays. Some sites say 50%, others mention different formulas. Can someone explain how they actually calculate your weekly benefit amount? I made about $52,000 last year working retail management and really need to know what to expect if I get approved.
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Nadia Zaldivar
NYS Department of Labor calculates your weekly benefit rate (WBR) using your highest quarter earnings from your base period, which is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. They take your highest quarter, divide by 26, then you get approximately 50% of that amount. The maximum weekly benefit for 2025 is $504. So if you made $52k annually, depending on how your earnings were distributed across quarters, you're probably looking at somewhere between $350-450 per week.
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Rajan Walker
•Thanks! So it's not just a straight 50% of my total income? That's confusing but at least now I have a rough idea of what to expect.
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Lukas Fitzgerald
yeah its confusing as hell... i thought it was 50% of my salary too but when i got my determination letter it was way less than i expected. turned out my highest quarter wasnt as high as i thought because of when i started my job
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Ev Luca
The key thing to understand is that NYS Department of Labor looks at your base period quarters, not your annual salary. If you had inconsistent earnings or started a job mid-year, your highest quarter might be lower than you'd expect. You can estimate by looking at your quarterly earnings on your pay stubs or tax documents. The formula is: (Highest quarter earnings ÷ 26) × 0.5 = approximate weekly benefit amount.
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Avery Davis
•This is super helpful! I never understood why my friend got more than me even though we made similar amounts. Must be the quarterly thing.
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Collins Angel
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to check your wage history or get clarification on your benefit calculation, I had success using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com). They help you actually reach a live agent instead of sitting on hold forever. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really saved me time when I needed to verify my quarterly wages.
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Marcelle Drum
•How much does something like that cost though? I'm already worried about money and don't want to pay for something I should be able to do myself.
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Collins Angel
•I get the concern about cost, but honestly the time it saved me was worth it. I spent 3 days trying to get through on my own with no luck. Sometimes you need to talk to someone to understand your specific situation, especially with the quarterly calculation stuff.
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Tate Jensen
The whole system is designed to give you as little as possible! They make the calculations confusing on purpose so people don't know what they're entitled to. I've been fighting with NYS Department of Labor for months over my benefit amount and they keep giving me the runaround.
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Avery Davis
Just to add - make sure you're looking at GROSS earnings for your quarters, not net pay. That tripped me up when I was trying to estimate my benefits before filing.
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