What does unemployment pay in NY - trying to figure out my weekly benefit amount
I'm about to file for unemployment benefits with NYS Department of Labor for the first time and honestly have no clue what to expect for payments. I've been working at a restaurant for about 2 years making around $18/hour, usually 35-40 hours per week. Got laid off last Friday due to slow business. What does unemployment actually pay? Is it a percentage of what I was making? How do they calculate it? I need to know so I can figure out my budget while job hunting.
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Luca Ferrari
NYS Department of Labor calculates your weekly benefit rate based on your highest earning quarter in your base period (usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you filed). The maximum weekly benefit for 2025 is $504, but most people get less. Your benefit rate is roughly 50% of your average weekly wage during that highest quarter, but there's a formula they use. You can get an estimate on the my.ny.gov portal when you file your initial claim.
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NebulaNomad
•Thanks! So if I was making about $700 a week, I'd get around $350? That's not terrible I guess. How long does it take to get the first payment after filing?
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Nia Wilson
just filed mine last week and my benefit rate came out to $320/week. I was making around $850/week at my last job so yeah its about half like the other person said. took about 2 weeks to get my first payment but that was because my claim went into adjudication for some reason
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NebulaNomad
•What's adjudication? Should I be worried about that happening to me?
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Luca Ferrari
•Adjudication just means they need to verify something about your claim - could be your reason for separation, work history, or identity verification. It's pretty common and usually resolves within a few weeks.
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Mateo Martinez
The NYS Department of Labor system is so frustrating when you're trying to get information about benefit amounts! I spent hours on hold trying to get someone to explain how they calculated my rate. Finally used claimyr.com to get through to an agent who actually explained everything clearly. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows exactly how it works. Made the whole process so much easier than dealing with the endless phone loops.
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Aisha Hussain
•Never heard of that service before but honestly anything is better than trying to call NYS Department of Labor directly. I've been hung up on like 5 times this week trying to get answers about my claim status.
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Ethan Clark
Don't forget you'll also need to file your weekly claims every week to keep getting benefits, even if your initial claim is still processing. And you have to do job search activities - the requirement is 3 work search contacts per week unless you're on standby status with your employer.
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NebulaNomad
•What counts as work search contacts? Just applying for jobs online or do I need to do other stuff too?
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Ethan Clark
•Job applications, networking events, career fairs, contacting employers directly, even creating/updating LinkedIn profiles can count. Keep a log of everything with dates and details because they can audit your job search activities.
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StarStrider
ugh the whole unemployment system is such a mess. they make it impossible to get straight answers about anything including how much you'll actually receive until you're already in the system
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Yuki Sato
•I feel you on that! But once you get through the initial setup it's not too bad. The weekly claims only take like 5 minutes to file online.
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