What is the maximum unemployment benefit in NY for 2022?
The weekly amount that workers in New York can receive in unemployment compensation depends on how much they were paid during their “base period”.
Those who lose their job through no fault of their own in New York and meet other requirements can expect at most $504 in weekly jobless financial assistance. However, the real amount will be determined by the state based on a worker’s “base period” with a minimum weekly amount set at $116.
In order to calculate an individual’s unemployment compensation, officials at the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) will look at a “basic base period” or your “alternate base period. The agency will not “automatically” consider the latter in the event that you have enough wages in your basic base period to assess if you would get a higher weekly amount. Here’s a look.
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Who can claim unemployment benefits in New York?
Workers must meet three criteria to claim jobless aid in New York besides losing their job through no fault, be actively looking for a new job and being “ready, willing and able to work.” First you must have paid into the Unemployment Insurance through wages earned at jobs covered by the program during at least two quarters of the base period.
You must have been paid a minimum of $2,900 in one calendar quarter for claims that are filed in 2022. And your total wages received over the base period must be no less than 1.5 times your earnings in your high quarter.
An exception to this last requirement would be for those who had wages in excess of $11,088 in their high quarter. In that case, you must have been paid a combined total of half that amount, $5,544, or more during the other three quarters of your base period.
Calculating unemployment benefits in New York
Depending on whether you had earnings in all four base period quarters or at least two will determine how the state calculates your weekly benefits.
In the event that you had wages in all four quarters, NYDOL will take your highest-earnings quarter from your base period. For those whose high quarter earnings are in excess of $3,575, that amount is divided by 26 and the minimum benefit is $143 per week. A high quarter earnings of $3,575 or less is divided by 25 with the lowest weekly amount possible set at $116 as of 3 January 2022.
If you only had earnings in two or three of the base period quarters, the average of the highest two will be used. For those who earned $3,576 or more the average will be divided by 26, with a minimum weekly benefit of $143, even if the calculation is lower. High quarter earnings of $3,575 or less, the average is divided by 25 with the minimum set at $116 per week.
The state provides a benefits calculator online, but NYDOL advises that the benefit rate shown is just an estimate and not a guarantee of the actual unemployment compensation that might be paid out. You can also find examples in the agency’s claimants handbook.