What is the percentage for unemployment benefit calculation in NYS Department of Labor system?
I'm trying to figure out how NYS Department of Labor calculates my weekly benefit amount. I know it's based on some percentage of my wages but I can't find the exact rate anywhere on their website. My gross weekly pay was around $850 before I got laid off last month. Does anyone know what percentage NYS Department of Labor uses to determine UI benefits? I want to estimate what I should expect before my claim gets approved.
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Lola Perez
NYS Department of Labor uses your highest quarter earnings from your base period and calculates 50% of your average weekly wage, but there's a cap. The maximum weekly benefit amount for 2025 is $504. So if 50% of your average weekly wage exceeds that, you'll get the maximum.
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Ethan Scott
•Thanks! So with my $850 weekly gross, 50% would be $425 which is under the cap. That sounds about right for what I'm expecting.
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Nathaniel Stewart
wait i thought it was 26 weeks at 50% but my cousin said something different
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Lola Perez
•The 26 weeks is how long you can collect, not the percentage calculation. The weekly amount is still 50% of your average weekly wage up to the maximum.
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Riya Sharma
I had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask about my calculation too. Ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. The agent was able to explain exactly how they calculated my benefits.
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Santiago Diaz
•How much did that cost? I've been trying to call for weeks about my benefit amount but keep getting disconnected.
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Riya Sharma
•It was worth it to finally talk to someone who could walk through the calculation with my actual wage history. Way better than trying to guess from the website.
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Millie Long
The NYS Department of Labor system is so confusing with all these calculations! I still don't understand why my benefit amount was lower than I expected even though I made good money.
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Lola Perez
•It could be because they use your base period wages, not your most recent wages. The base period is usually the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you filed.
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KaiEsmeralda
Just remember you also need to meet the job search requirements to keep getting benefits. NYS Department of Labor requires 3 work search activities per week now.
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