What makes you eligible for unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor?

Thanks! What counts as 'actively searching for work'? Do I need to apply to a certain number of jobs each week?

Thanks! That wage calculation part is confusing though. How do I figure out if I meet those dollar requirements? Is there a way to check my wage history before filing?

Wait, is it 3 activities or 3 job applications? I thought it was just applications...

It's 3 work search activities total - can be a mix of applications, interviews, networking, etc. Doesn't have to be all applications.

Good to know! I'll check that out before filing. Do both my jobs need to have reported wages or just one of them?

Both employers should have reported your wages to NYS Department of Labor if they were legitimate employers. If an employer didn't report wages properly, you can still use that employment but you'll need to provide documentation like pay stubs or W-2s to prove your earnings.

I had the same problem until someone told me about Claimyr. It's a service that helps you get through to NYS Department of Labor agents - they handle the calling and waiting for you. Check out claimyr.com, they even have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me hours of frustration trying to reach someone about my claim issues.

Wait what kind of activities count? I thought you just had to apply to jobs online?

Job applications count, but so do things like attending job fairs, networking events, career counseling sessions, or even registering with employment agencies. The key is documenting everything with dates, company names, and contact information.

I had a similar issue with reaching NYS Department of Labor agents when my claim got flagged for review. Ended up using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual person. They have this video demo (https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI) that shows how it works. Basically they handle the calling and waiting for you, then connect you when an agent picks up. Saved me hours of being on hold and getting disconnected.

That actually sounds really useful. How long did it take to reach someone through them?

Much faster than doing it myself. Instead of spending my whole day calling and getting hung up on, I just submitted my request and they handled the rest. Definitely worth it when you're dealing with time-sensitive claim issues.

This is really helpful advice! I'm in a similar situation and was worried about the wage calculation part. Quick question - when you say "highest earning quarter," does that mean the 3-month period where I made the most money total, or is it based on some specific calendar quarters that NYS uses? I want to make sure I'm calculating this right before I file.

@Chloe Wilson NYS uses specific calendar quarters, not just any 3-month period when you earned the most. The quarters are: Q1 Jan-Mar (,)Q2 Apr-Jun (,)Q3 Jul-Sep (,)and Q4 Oct-Dec (.)Your base "period is" typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file your claim. So if you file in December 2024, your base period would usually be Q3 2023 through Q2 2024. The highest "quarter means" whichever of those 4 quarters had your highest total wages. You can check your quarterly wage history on my.ny.gov to see exactly what NYS has on file for you - that s'the data they ll'use to determine if you meet the $2,600 minimum in your high quarter.

Great question! NYS uses specific calendar quarters, not just any 3-month period. The quarters are: Q1 (Jan-Mar), Q2 (Apr-Jun), Q3 (Jul-Sep), and Q4 (Oct-Dec). Your "base period" is typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. So if you're filing now, they'd look at your wages from those 4 quarters and find whichever one had your highest total earnings. You can see this breakdown when you check your wage history on my.ny.gov - it shows earnings by quarter which makes the calculation much easier!

Great question! NYS uses specific calendar quarters, not just any 3-month period. So Q1 is Jan-Mar, Q2 is Apr-Jun, Q3 is Jul-Sep, and Q4 is Oct-Dec. Your "base period" is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. So if you file now in late 2024, they'd typically look at Q3 2023 through Q2 2024. The "highest quarter" would be whichever of those 4 quarters you earned the most wages in. You can see all your quarterly wages broken down on the my.ny.gov site which makes the calculation much easier!

Good question! It's based on specific calendar quarters that NYS uses, not just any 3-month period. Calendar quarters are: Q1 (Jan-Mar), Q2 (Apr-Jun), Q3 (Jul-Sep), Q4 (Oct-Dec). Your "base period" is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file. So if you're filing now, they'd look at your wages from those 4 quarters and find which one had your highest total earnings. You can see this breakdown when you check your wage history on my.ny.gov - it shows earnings by quarter which makes the calculation much easier!

Great question! NYS uses specific calendar quarters, not just any 3-month period. So Q1 is January-March, Q2 is April-June, Q3 is July-September, and Q4 is October-December. Your "base period" is typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. So if you're filing now in late 2025, your base period would likely be Q3 2024 through Q2 2025. You need to find which of those 4 quarters had your highest total wages - that's your "high quarter." Then your total wages across all 4 quarters needs to be at least 1.5 times that high quarter amount. The my.ny.gov site breaks it down by these exact quarters, so it's pretty easy to see once you pull up your wage history!

Great question! NYS uses specific calendar quarters, not just any 3-month period. So Q1 is Jan-Mar, Q2 is Apr-Jun, Q3 is Jul-Sep, and Q4 is Oct-Dec. Your "base period" is typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. So if you file in December 2024, your base period would likely be Q3 2023 through Q2 2024. The "highest quarter" is whichever of those 4 quarters you earned the most wages in. When you check your wage history on my.ny.gov, it'll show your earnings broken down by these calendar quarters, which makes it much easier to see if you hit that $2,600 minimum.

Good question! NYS uses specific calendar quarters, not just any 3-month period. So Q1 is January-March, Q2 is April-June, Q3 is July-September, and Q4 is October-December. Your "base period" is typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. So if you file in December 2024, they'd look at Q3 2023 through Q2 2024. The "highest quarter" is whichever of those 4 quarters you earned the most wages in. You can see all your quarterly wages broken down on the my.ny.gov site under employment services before filing to double-check the math.

@Chloe Wilson It s'based on specific calendar quarters that NYS uses, not just any 3-month period. So like January-March would be Q1, April-June would be Q2, etc. Your base "period is" typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file your claim. So if you re'filing now, they d'look at your wages from roughly a year ago through about 3 months ago. The $2,600 needs to be earned in whichever of those 4 quarters was your highest. You can check your quarterly wage history on my.ny.gov to see exactly what they have on file for you!

It's based on specific calendar quarters that NYS uses - January-March (Q1), April-June (Q2), July-September (Q3), and October-December (Q4). So when they calculate your "highest quarter," they're looking at whichever of those 3-month periods you earned the most in during your base period. For example, if you made $3,000 total from January-March but only $2,200 from April-June, your highest quarter would be Q1 at $3,000. The tricky part is that your base period is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file, so it might not include your most recent work. That's why checking your wage history on my.ny.gov first is so helpful!

@Chloe Wilson It s'based on specific calendar quarters that NYS uses, not just any 3-month period. Calendar quarters are: Q1 Jan-Mar (,)Q2 Apr-Jun (,)Q3 Jul-Sep (,)and Q4 Oct-Dec (.)So they ll'look at your total wages earned in each of those quarters during your base period and identify which one was your highest. For example, if you earned $3,000 in Q2 and $2,400 in Q3, your high quarter would be Q2 with $3,000. You d'need that $3,000 to be at least $2,600 which (it is ,)and your total base period wages would need to be at least $4,500 1.5 (times the $3,000 .)Hope that clarifies it!

It's based on specific calendar quarters that NYS uses, not just any 3-month period when you earned the most. Calendar quarters are Jan-Mar (Q1), Apr-Jun (Q2), Jul-Sep (Q3), and Oct-Dec (Q4). Your "base period" is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. So if you file in December 2024, they'd typically look at your earnings from Q3 2023 through Q2 2024. The "highest quarter" means whichever of those 4 quarters you earned the most wages in. You can see all this broken down clearly when you check your wage history on my.ny.gov - it shows your earnings by quarter so you don't have to calculate it yourself!

@Chloe Wilson NYS uses specific calendar quarters, not just any 3-month period. Calendar quarters are: Q1 Jan-Mar (,)Q2 Apr-Jun (,)Q3 Jul-Sep (,)Q4 Oct-Dec (.)Your base "period is" typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. So if you file in December 2024, they d'look at Q3 2023 through Q2 2024. Your high "quarter would" be whichever of those 4 quarters had your highest total wages. You need at least $2,600 in that highest quarter and your total base period wages need to be at least 1.5 times that high quarter amount.

Good question! NYS uses specific calendar quarters, not just any 3-month period. So Q1 is Jan-Mar, Q2 is Apr-Jun, Q3 is Jul-Sep, and Q4 is Oct-Dec. Your "base period" is typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. For example, if you file in December 2024, your base period would likely be Q3 2023 through Q2 2024. The "high quarter" is whichever of those 4 quarters you earned the most wages in. You can see all your quarterly wages broken down on the my.ny.gov site which makes the calculation much easier!

@Chloe Wilson It s'based on specific calendar quarters that NYS uses, not just any 3-month period. Calendar quarters are Jan-Mar Q1 (,)Apr-Jun Q2 (,)Jul-Sep Q3 (,)and Oct-Dec Q4 (.)So they look at your total wages earned in whichever of those quarters was your highest during your base period. For example, if you made $3,000 total between April-June of last year, that would be your Q2 earnings. The $2,600 minimum has to be met in one complete calendar quarter, not just any 3-month stretch. Hope that clarifies it!

Great question! NYS uses specific calendar quarters, not just any 3-month period. So Q1 is January-March, Q2 is April-June, Q3 is July-September, and Q4 is October-December. Your "base period" is typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. So if you file in December 2024, your base period would likely be Q3 2023 through Q2 2024. The "highest quarter" is whichever of those 4 quarters you earned the most wages in. You can see all this broken down by quarter when you check your wage history on the my.ny.gov site - it makes the calculation much clearer!

@Chloe Wilson It s'based on specific calendar quarters that NYS uses, not just any 3-month period. Calendar quarters are: Q1 Jan-Mar (,)Q2 Apr-Jun (,)Q3 Jul-Sep (,)Q4 Oct-Dec (.)So they ll'look at which of those quarters you earned the most in during your base period. When you check your wage history on my.ny.gov, it should break down your earnings by these specific quarters, making it easier to see which was your highest earning quarter and if you hit that $2,600 minimum.

Great question! NYS uses specific calendar quarters, not just any 3-month period. The quarters are: Q1 (Jan-Mar), Q2 (Apr-Jun), Q3 (Jul-Sep), and Q4 (Oct-Dec). Your "base period" is typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. So if you file in May 2025, your base period would likely be Q1 2024 through Q4 2024. The "high quarter" is whichever of those 4 quarters had your highest total wages. You can see all this broken down on the my.ny.gov wage history page - it shows your earnings by quarter which makes the calculation much easier!

Great question! NYS uses specific calendar quarters, not just any 3-month period. So Q1 is January-March, Q2 is April-June, Q3 is July-September, and Q4 is October-December. Your "base period" is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. So if you're filing now in late 2024, they'd typically look at Q3 2023 through Q2 2024. The "highest quarter" is whichever of those 4 quarters you earned the most wages in. You can see all this broken down by quarter when you check your wage history on my.ny.gov - it makes the calculation much clearer!