NYS Department of Labor unemployment rates when Obama left office - how did it affect claims?
I've been looking into unemployment trends and wondering how the unemployment situation when Obama left office in 2017 affected NYS Department of Labor claims processing. My dad was collecting unemployment back then and I remember him saying the system seemed different than it is now. Were there any major changes to how NYS Department of Labor handled claims around that time? I'm curious because I might need to file soon and want to know what to expect compared to what he went through.
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Adaline Wong
Back in 2017 when Obama's term ended, New York's unemployment rate was actually pretty low compared to the recession years. The NYS Department of Labor had streamlined a lot of their processes by then. Your dad probably experienced fewer delays in adjudication compared to the 2009-2012 period when claim volumes were massive. The online system was more stable too.
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Tate Jensen
•That makes sense. He did mention that his weekly claims went through pretty smoothly most of the time.
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Gabriel Ruiz
yeah i remember filing around that time and it wasnt too bad, maybe took like 2-3 weeks to get my first payment after the waiting week. now it seems like everything takes forever with all the fraud prevention stuff they added
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Misterclamation Skyblue
The major difference you'll notice now is the identity verification requirements are much stricter. Back in 2017, you could get through the initial filing process faster, but now NYS Department of Labor requires additional documentation for ID verification which can add weeks to your claim approval. Also, job search requirements are more strictly enforced now - you need to log 3 job contacts per week and keep detailed records.
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Peyton Clarke
•Wait, is it really 3 job contacts now? I thought it was still just 1 per week like it used to be!
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Misterclamation Skyblue
•Yes, it changed to 3 contacts per week for most claimants. You can check the current requirements on the NYS Department of Labor website under job search activities.
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Vince Eh
If you do need to file and run into issues reaching someone at NYS Department of Labor, I had good luck using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of trying to call and getting busy signals or hung up on.
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Tate Jensen
•Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely keep that in mind if I have trouble getting through.
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Sophia Gabriel
The whole system is a NIGHTMARE now compared to back then!! Used to be you could actually talk to someone without waiting 3 hours on hold. Now they just hang up on you after an hour of waiting. Obama era was definitely better for unemployment claims.
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Tobias Lancaster
Just wanted to add that even though the process might be more complex now, the benefit amounts have increased. Maximum weekly benefit in NY is higher now than it was in 2017, so that's something positive at least.
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