NYS Department of Labor unemployment rate trends - what rate is considered high for benefits?
I've been tracking unemployment statistics and wondering about NYS Department of Labor perspectives on what unemployment rates are considered high. Currently researching for a college economics project and trying to understand how state unemployment rates affect benefit policies. Does anyone know if there's a specific rate threshold where NYS Department of Labor considers the state to be in high unemployment? I've seen references to extended benefits programs that kick in during certain conditions but can't find clear numbers.
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Tyrone Hill
From what I understand, NYS Department of Labor follows federal guidelines where unemployment rates above 6.5% typically trigger extended benefit programs. But the calculation is more complex - they look at seasonal adjustments and compare current rates to previous years. When I was collecting UI benefits last year, the state rate was around 4.2% which was considered moderate.
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Anderson Prospero
•That's really helpful! Do you know if those extended benefits affect regular weekly claim amounts or just the duration?
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Toot-n-Mighty
idk the exact numbers but when unemployment gets really high like during recessions the state usually extends how long you can collect benefits. i think its called EB or something like that
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Lena Kowalski
The NYS Department of Labor uses a 'lookback period' formula comparing current 13-week averages to the same period in previous years. Generally, rates above 5% start raising concerns, but 'high unemployment' designation requires sustained rates above certain thresholds for consecutive periods. Extended Benefits (EB) programs activate when the state rate exceeds 120% of the average for the same period in the two previous years, with a minimum 5% rate requirement.
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DeShawn Washington
•This is exactly the kind of detailed info I was looking for! The 120% comparison rule makes sense. I had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor directly for this research, but I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps people actually reach agents by phone. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Might be useful for getting official confirmation on these statistics.
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Mei-Ling Chen
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS RIGGED ANYWAY!! They manipulate these numbers to avoid paying extended benefits. I've been watching NYS Department of Labor statistics for years and they always find ways to keep the official rate just below trigger thresholds. Meanwhile real people are struggling to find work but don't qualify for extended help.
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Sofía Rodríguez
•I mean, there might be some political considerations, but the calculations are pretty standardized across states...
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Aiden O'Connor
For your project you should also look at how NYS Department of Labor defines 'unemployment' - they don't count people who've stopped looking for work or are underemployed. The actual economic distress rate is usually higher than official unemployment statistics show.
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