What time does NYS Department of Labor unemployment office close for phone calls?
I've been trying to call the NYS Department of Labor about my claim all week but keep missing their hours. Does anyone know what time the unemployment phone lines actually close? I work until 4pm and by the time I get home and try calling, I always get the 'we are currently closed' message. Are they really closed that early or am I calling the wrong number?
12 comments
Join the conversation
Giovanni Rossi
The main NYS Department of Labor unemployment phone line closes at 5:00 PM Monday through Friday. But honestly, even calling during business hours doesn't guarantee you'll get through - the wait times are usually 45+ minutes and sometimes they just hang up on you when call volume is high.
0 coins
CosmicCaptain
•Thanks! I'll try calling right at 4pm tomorrow and see if I can get through before they close. Hopefully the wait isn't too crazy.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Maktoum
they close at 5 but good luck actually getting someone on the phone lol, been trying for 2 weeks to ask about my adjudication status
0 coins
Dylan Mitchell
The official hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. However, I'd recommend calling as early as possible - the lines get completely jammed by mid-morning. If you're having trouble getting through during regular hours, I actually found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me connect to a NYS Department of Labor agent when I couldn't get through myself. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me hours of redialing.
0 coins
Sofia Gutierrez
•Never heard of that service before but might be worth trying if the regular phone number keeps failing me. How quickly did they get you connected?
0 coins
Dylan Mitchell
•It took about 20 minutes for them to get me through to an actual person at NYS Department of Labor. Way better than the 3+ hours I was spending trying to call myself every day.
0 coins
Dmitry Petrov
The phone system is absolutely broken. Even when you call during business hours you'll sit on hold forever and then get disconnected. I've had better luck trying to resolve issues through my online account or going to a local office in person, but that's not always an option depending on what you need help with.
0 coins
CosmicCaptain
•I tried my online account but it just says 'contact customer service' for my specific issue. Looks like I'm stuck trying to get through by phone somehow.
0 coins
StarSurfer
5pm is correct but honestly the whole system is a nightmare, took me 3 months to get my claim sorted out because of how impossible it is to reach anyone there
0 coins
Grace Durand
•3 months?! That's insane. I'm really hoping I don't have to deal with anything that complicated - just need to update my address and ask about a payment delay. Maybe I should try calling right when they open at 8am instead of waiting until after work.
0 coins
Liam O'Donnell
I've been dealing with the same frustration! After reading through everyone's advice here, I'm going to try a combination approach: calling right at 8 AM on a Tuesday or Wednesday (avoiding Mondays and Fridays), using the main 1-888-209-8124 number, and having my phone ready to dial at exactly 7:59:59 AM. If that doesn't work, I might look into that Claimyr service someone mentioned. It's ridiculous that we have to strategize this much just to reach our own state unemployment office, but at least this community has some solid practical tips. Will report back on how the early morning strategy works!
0 coins
Everett Tutum
•That's a really smart combination approach! I've been following this thread and taking notes on everyone's strategies too. The timing consensus seems pretty clear - early morning on Tuesday-Thursday is the sweet spot. I'm curious about the Claimyr service as well, especially after Dylan mentioned it only took 20 minutes to get connected. Might be worth the cost if the DIY approach doesn't work out. Definitely interested to hear how your 7:59:59 AM strategy goes - that level of precision timing feels like it shouldn't be necessary but apparently that's what it takes with this system!
0 coins