NYS Department of Labor - why is youth unemployment a problem affecting my kid's benefits?
My 19-year-old son just graduated high school last June and has been trying to find work since then. He finally got laid off from a part-time retail job in December and we applied for unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor. The caseworker mentioned something about 'youth unemployment statistics' affecting his claim processing time. I don't understand why being young makes it harder to get benefits when he worked and paid into the system. His claim has been in adjudication for 2 weeks now and I'm wondering if this youth unemployment issue is causing delays. Has anyone else dealt with this? Are there special rules for younger workers that I should know about?
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Ava Martinez
Youth unemployment isn't really a separate category for NYS Department of Labor benefits - your son's age shouldn't affect his claim processing. The adjudication delay is probably related to verifying his work history or wages, which is common for newer workers who haven't been in the system long. Make sure you submitted all his W-2s and pay stubs correctly.
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StarSeeker
•Thanks, that makes more sense. He only worked that one job so his work history is pretty simple. Maybe it's just the normal processing time then.
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Miguel Ortiz
i think the caseworker was probably talking about why it takes young people longer to find jobs in general, not about special benefit rules. my nephew had the same situation last year and his claim went through fine eventually
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Zainab Omar
The 'youth unemployment problem' is more about the job market making it harder for young people to find work, especially entry-level positions. This actually works in your son's favor for UI benefits because it supports his case for being unemployed through no fault of his own. If his adjudication is taking too long, you might want to try calling NYS Department of Labor directly. I had success using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to actually get through to a human agent when I couldn't reach anyone through the normal phone lines. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works.
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StarSeeker
•Oh interesting, I never thought about it helping his case. I'll check out that Claimyr thing if we don't hear back soon.
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Connor Murphy
•Wait, is Claimyr legit? I've been trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor for my own claim issues and haven't had any luck with the regular numbers.
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Yara Sayegh
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS RIGGED AGAINST YOUNG PEOPLE! They make it harder for kids to get jobs then make them jump through hoops for benefits. My daughter went through this same BS last year and it took MONTHS to get her first payment. NYS Department of Labor doesn't care about helping young workers at all.
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NebulaNova
•That's really frustrating. How long did it actually take for your daughter's claim to get approved?
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Keisha Williams
Similar situation here - my 20 year old had issues too but it turned out to be because he didn't report some cash wages from a summer job correctly. Once we figured that out and submitted the right paperwork, his weekly claims started going through normally. Check if there are any wage discrepancies showing up in his account.
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