Which unemployment benefit pays the most in NY - regular UI vs standby?
I'm trying to figure out which type of unemployment benefit pays the most money in New York. I work construction and sometimes get laid off seasonally, other times I get completely let go. My friend says standby unemployment pays more but I thought regular UI was the highest. Does anyone know which unemployment benefit actually gives you the most weekly money? I made about $52,000 last year if that matters for calculating my benefit amount.
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Kristian Bishop
The weekly benefit amount is calculated the same way for both regular unemployment and standby - it's based on your wages from your base period, not the type of claim. Your maximum weekly benefit in NY for 2025 is $504. The difference between regular UI and standby isn't the payment amount, it's the job search requirements. With standby you don't have to actively look for work because you have a definite return date.
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Eva St. Cyr
•Oh wow I had no idea! So if I made $52k last year, what would my weekly amount actually be?
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Kaitlyn Otto
Your weekly benefit rate is calculated using your highest quarter earnings from your base period. If you made $52,000 evenly throughout the year, that's roughly $13,000 per quarter. NYS Department of Labor takes your highest quarter and divides by 26, so you'd get around $500 per week which is close to the maximum. But if your earnings were uneven due to construction work, it could be different.
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Axel Far
•this is right, i work construction too and my benefits were calculated from my best quarter not my total year
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Jasmine Hernandez
I've been trying to reach NYS Department of Labor for weeks to get my exact benefit amount clarified but their phone lines are always busy. Has anyone found a way to actually talk to someone there? I need to know if my calculation is correct before I file my weekly claims.
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Kaitlyn Otto
•I had the same problem until I found Claimyr (claimyr.com). They helped me get through to an actual NYS Department of Labor agent who explained my benefit calculation. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really saved me hours of trying to call.
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Jasmine Hernandez
•Thanks, I'll check that out. At this point I'm willing to try anything to get through to someone who can explain this stuff.
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Luis Johnson
wait so standby and regular unemployment pay the same??? why does everyone say to try for standby then
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Kristian Bishop
•People prefer standby because you don't have to do job searches every week. With regular UI you need to make 3 job contacts per week and keep a log. Standby is easier to maintain but the pay is identical.
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Ellie Kim
THE NYS DEPARTMENT OF LABOR SYSTEM IS SO CONFUSING!! I've been trying to figure this out for months and nobody explains it clearly. Why can't they just tell you upfront what you'll get paid instead of making you guess???
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Fiona Sand
•totally agree, the whole system is designed to confuse people
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