Who pays for unemployment benefits in NYS - employer vs state costs breakdown?

In New York, unemployment insurance is funded primarily through employer payroll taxes, not employee contributions. Employers pay into the state unemployment insurance fund based on their payroll and experience rating. The NYS Department of Labor collects these taxes quarterly from employers. So yes, the cost of unemployment is borne by employers through their UI tax contributions, but it's not a direct cost when you file - they've already been paying into the system.

Your former employer's UI tax rate can go up if they have a lot of claims filed against them over time. It's called an experience rating system. But don't let that stop you from filing - you earned those benefits and your employer knew this was part of the cost of doing business when they hired you.

I had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I needed to ask about this same question last year. If you need to speak with someone directly about how the funding works, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you actually reach an agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me hours of busy signals trying to get through myself.

just file already!! your company laid you off they knew what they were doing. unemployment system exists for a reason and employers pay for it whether people use it or not

To add some specifics to what others have said - in NY, employers pay UI taxes on wages up to $12,300 per employee (as of 2024). The tax rate varies from 0.6% to 9.9% depending on the employer's claims history. New employers start at around 4.1%. The state also collects a small additional assessment. So yes, your former employer has been paying into this system all along - it's designed exactly for situations like layoffs. Don't feel guilty about using benefits you and your employer have already paid for through the system.