Who loses from unemployment benefits in NYS - impact on businesses and workers?
I've been thinking about this a lot since I started collecting unemployment last month. Obviously I'm grateful for the benefits but I keep wondering who actually loses out when people like me are on unemployment? Is it just taxpayers funding it or do businesses pay more? And what about the economy overall? I'm genuinely curious about the bigger picture here since I've never really understood how the whole NYS Department of Labor system gets funded. Anyone know how this actually works?
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Luca Bianchi
Businesses pay unemployment insurance taxes based on their experience rating - companies with higher turnover and more claims pay higher rates. So employers definitely have skin in the game. The NYS Department of Labor uses these taxes to fund the trust fund that pays benefits. Taxpayers don't directly fund regular unemployment benefits.
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Zara Shah
•That makes sense why some employers fight unemployment claims then. Didn't realize they were directly paying for it through higher taxes.
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GalacticGuardian
honestly the people who lose the most are the ones stuck working crappy jobs because they can't afford to quit and look for something better while others get to collect benefits
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Nia Harris
•That's not really how unemployment works though. You can't just quit and collect benefits - you have to be laid off or fired for reasons not related to misconduct. The NYS Department of Labor is pretty strict about that.
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Mateo Gonzalez
The economy actually benefits from unemployment benefits in most cases. When people have money to spend on necessities, it keeps demand up and prevents deeper recessions. Studies show that every dollar spent on unemployment generates about $1.50 in economic activity. So while there are costs, there are also significant benefits to maintaining consumer spending during downturns.
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Aisha Ali
•interesting point about the multiplier effect. never thought about unemployment as economic stimulus before
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Ethan Moore
I had to deal with my former employer challenging my unemployment claim last year and it was such a nightmare. Took forever to get through to anyone at the NYS Department of Labor to sort it out. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me actually reach a real person to explain my situation. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Made a huge difference in getting my adjudication resolved quickly.
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Zara Shah
•How much did that cost? I'm dealing with some issues with my weekly claims and can't get through to anyone either.
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Ethan Moore
•It was worth it for me since I was stuck in adjudication for weeks. Much easier than trying to call hundreds of times and getting disconnected.
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Yuki Nakamura
Small businesses get hit the hardest by unemployment costs. We had to lay off 3 people during COVID and our unemployment insurance rates went through the roof. It's like being punished twice - first you lose revenue and have to cut staff, then you pay higher taxes for years because of those layoffs. The NYS Department of Labor doesn't care that you had no choice.
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Luca Bianchi
•There are actually provisions for economic layoffs that don't impact your experience rating as much as firing for cause. You might want to check with your accountant about whether those layoffs were properly classified.
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GalacticGuardian
at the end of the day its just wealth redistribution from working people to non-working people. call it what it is
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Nia Harris
•That's an oversimplification. Most people on unemployment worked for years and paid into the system before claiming benefits. It's more like insurance than welfare.
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