What makes eligible for unemployment - NYS Department of Labor requirements?

The main eligibility requirements for NYS unemployment are: 1) You must have worked and earned wages in at least 2 quarters of your base period, 2) You must have earned at least $2,600 in your highest earning quarter, 3) Your total base period wages must be at least 1.5 times your highest quarter earnings, and 4) You must be unemployed through no fault of your own (layoffs qualify, but firing for misconduct doesn't). Since you were laid off, that should meet the separation requirement.

Base period is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file. So if you file in January 2025, your base period would be Oct 2023 through Sept 2024. You can also use the alternate base period which is the last 4 completed quarters if that works better for your wage history.

dont forget you also have to be able and available to work and actively looking for a job once you start collecting. NYS Department of Labor requires you to do job search activities and keep track of them

I had issues reaching someone at NYS Department of Labor when I needed to verify my eligibility status last year. The phone lines are always busy. I ended up using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Really saved me time instead of calling dozens of times myself.

Also make sure you file your claim as soon as possible after becoming unemployed. There's usually a one week waiting period before you can collect benefits, and you can't get paid for weeks before you actually file your initial claim.