NYS Department of Labor - what is natural unemployment and how does it affect my claim?
I'm confused about something called 'natural unemployment' that came up during my job search workshop with Workforce One. The counselor mentioned it when explaining why there are always some people unemployed even when the economy is good. Does this concept affect my NYS Department of Labor claim in any way? I've been on UI for 6 weeks now and wondering if this is considered 'normal' unemployment or if there's something different I should be doing. My weekly claims have been going through fine but I want to make sure I understand all the terminology being thrown around.
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Chloe Delgado
Natural unemployment is an economic concept that refers to the baseline level of unemployment that exists even in a healthy economy. It includes frictional unemployment (people between jobs) and structural unemployment (skills mismatches). For your NYS Department of Labor claim, this doesn't change anything - you're still eligible for benefits as long as you meet the regular requirements like filing weekly claims and doing your job search activities.
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Liam O'Reilly
•Thanks! So it's just economic theory stuff and doesn't actually impact my claim status or benefits?
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Ava Harris
yeah its basically just saying some people will always be unemployed for normal reasons like switching jobs or learning new skills. doesnt matter for your UI claim at all
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Jacob Lee
The Workforce One counselor probably brought it up to explain labor market dynamics. Natural unemployment typically runs around 4-5% even when the economy is strong. Your individual claim isn't affected by this concept - you'll still need to file your weekly claims, maintain your job search log, and meet all the standard NYS Department of Labor requirements. If you're having trouble reaching someone at NYS Department of Labor to ask questions about your specific situation, I had good luck using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works.
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Liam O'Reilly
•That's really helpful about the Claimyr service! I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for weeks about a different question and can never get through.
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Emily Thompson
I think I learned about this in college economics but forgot most of it lol. Sounds like its just background info about unemployment rates in general, not something that affects individual claims
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Sophie Hernandez
The whole 'natural unemployment' thing is just economist speak for 'some people will always be out of work and that's normal.' Meanwhile those of us actually dealing with unemployment are just trying to pay our bills and get through the NYS Department of Labor bureaucracy! At least your weekly claims are processing smoothly - that's what really matters for keeping your benefits coming.
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Daniela Rossi
•Exactly! I don't care about economic theory when I'm worried about making rent. As long as my UI payments keep coming I'm good.
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