What are the quarters for unemployment benefits in NYS Department of Labor system?
I'm trying to understand how the NYS Department of Labor calculates my base period for unemployment benefits. I keep seeing references to 'quarters' but I'm not sure what time periods these actually cover. Are these calendar quarters or something different? I worked part-time jobs throughout 2024 and want to make sure I understand which wages count toward my benefit calculation. Can someone explain what quarters mean for unemployment purposes?
13 comments
Join the conversation
Aisha Abdullah
The quarters for unemployment are based on calendar quarters. Q1 is January-March, Q2 is April-June, Q3 is July-September, and Q4 is October-December. NYS Department of Labor uses your wages from the first four of the last five completed quarters before you filed your claim as your base period. So if you filed in January 2025, they'd look at wages from Q1 2024 through Q4 2024.
0 coins
Mateo Lopez
•That makes sense! So if I filed my claim in December 2024, would they use Q3 2023 through Q2 2024 as my base period?
0 coins
Ethan Davis
wait im confused about this too, i thought it was just the last 12 months of work? the quarters thing is throwing me off
0 coins
Yuki Tanaka
•It's not exactly 12 months - it's based on completed quarters. The NYS Department of Labor has to wait for employers to report wages for each quarter, so they can't use the most recent quarter since those wages might not be reported yet.
0 coins
Carmen Ortiz
Just went through this myself last month. The base period calculation really matters for your weekly benefit amount. If you had higher wages in quarters that fall outside your base period, you might want to wait to file until those quarters are included. I had to call NYS Department of Labor to verify my wage history was correct.
0 coins
MidnightRider
•How long did it take to get through to someone at NYS Department of Labor? I've been trying for days to verify my wage information but keep getting busy signals.
0 coins
Carmen Ortiz
•It was a nightmare trying to get through the regular way. I ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that connects you directly to NYS Department of Labor agents. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of calling.
0 coins
Andre Laurent
The quarter system is SO confusing and they don't explain it well anywhere on the NYS Department of Labor website. I had wages that didn't show up properly and it took forever to get it sorted out. Why can't they just use a rolling 12-month period like normal people would expect??
0 coins
Aisha Abdullah
•The quarter system exists because of how wage reporting works between employers and the state. Employers have to report wages by quarter, and there's a lag time for processing. It's standardized this way across most states.
0 coins
Zoe Papadopoulos
thanks for asking this question, i was wondering the same thing but felt dumb asking lol
0 coins
Aisha Jackson
•Don't feel dumb at all! The whole unemployment system is confusing and they really don't make it easy to understand. I'm still wrapping my head around all of this too. It's good that people like @Mateo Lopez ask these questions because it helps everyone learn.
0 coins
StarSailor
I went through this exact same confusion when I first applied! One thing that helped me was looking at my actual wage statements from employers - they usually show which quarter the wages were reported for. Also, if you worked multiple part-time jobs like you mentioned, make sure ALL your employers reported your wages correctly to NYS Department of Labor. I had one employer who was late reporting my Q2 wages and it initially looked like I had a gap in my work history. The system automatically calculates your base period once you file, but it's worth double-checking that all your wages are showing up properly in their system.
0 coins
Cedric Chung
•This is really helpful advice! I never thought about checking my actual wage statements to see which quarter they were reported for. I had three different part-time jobs during 2024, so I definitely want to make sure all the wages are showing up correctly. How do you actually check if your wages are properly recorded in the NYS Department of Labor system? Is there a way to see this information before you file your claim?
0 coins