What percentage of your pay is unemployment benefit in NYS - confused about calculation
I'm trying to figure out how much I'll actually get from unemployment if I lose my job. I keep seeing different numbers online and I'm getting confused. My gross pay is around $850 per week at my current job. Does anyone know what percentage of your regular pay the NYS Department of Labor actually gives you? I've been reading about benefit rates but the math doesn't seem to add up with what people are saying they receive. Is there a cap or something that limits how much you can get even if you made good money?
11 comments
Join the conversation
Emma Taylor
The NYS Department of Labor calculates your weekly benefit rate based on your highest quarter earnings in your base period, not just your current weekly pay. It's roughly 50% of your average weekly wage, but there's a maximum weekly benefit amount that changes each year. For 2025, the max is $504 per week. So even if 50% of your wages would be higher, you'd still cap out at $504.
0 coins
Javier Garcia
•So if I'm making $850 a week now, I'd get around $425 if I qualified? That's actually better than I thought it would be.
0 coins
Malik Robinson
wait i thought it was like 40% not 50%?? when i got laid off last year i was only getting about $380 and i was making around $900 a week before that
0 coins
Emma Taylor
•It depends on your base period earnings and how long you worked. The formula uses your highest quarter, so if you had a period with less hours or lower wages, that affects your benefit rate calculation.
0 coins
Isabella Silva
You need to look at your base period wages to get an accurate calculation. The NYS Department of Labor uses a specific formula - they take your highest quarter earnings, multiply by 26, then divide by 52 to get your average weekly wage. Then your benefit rate is roughly half of that, subject to the maximum. You can estimate this using the benefit calculator on the my.ny.gov website before you actually file a claim.
0 coins
Javier Garcia
•Thanks! I didn't know there was a calculator on the site. I'll check that out to get a better idea of what to expect.
0 coins
Ravi Choudhury
Been dealing with this recently and it's frustrating how confusing they make the whole process. If you need to actually talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor about your specific situation, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. Saved me hours of trying to call and getting busy signals.
0 coins
CosmosCaptain
•How much does something like that cost though? Seems like it should be free to talk to them about your own benefits.
0 coins
Ravi Choudhury
•I get that, but when you're trying to get answers about your claim and can't get through for days, sometimes it's worth it to actually reach someone who can help. The alternative is sitting on hold forever or never getting through at all.
0 coins
Freya Johansen
The percentage thing is misleading because there are minimums and maximums that affect most people. I think the minimum weekly benefit is like $104 and maximum is $504 for this year. So if you're a higher earner, you're definitely not getting 50% of your actual wages. More like 30-35% once you hit that cap.
0 coins
Javier Garcia
•Good point about the cap. I guess I need to calculate both the 50% amount and see if it hits the maximum to know what I'd actually get.
0 coins