The whole system is ridiculous anyway. Whether you're federal, state, or private sector, NYS Department of Labor takes forever to process anything and you can never reach anyone on the phone. Good luck OP, hope your experience is better than most of us have had with their so-called customer service.

Just wanted to add that when you file your UCFE claim through NYS Department of Labor, make sure you select "Federal Government" as your employer type in the application. This helps them route your claim correctly for processing. Also, don't be surprised if your monetary determination letter shows wages from "United States of America" instead of "USPS" - that's normal for federal employee claims. The benefit calculation works the same way as regular unemployment, just sourced from federal wages.

just went through this myself - make sure you also check if your state has any special rules about unemployment taxation. some states don't tax unemployment benefits even if the federal government does

One thing to keep in mind about the tax bracket concern you mentioned - unemployment benefits are taxed as ordinary income, but moving into a higher tax bracket only affects the income above that threshold, not your entire income. So if your $8,400 in UI benefits plus your partial year wages pushes you into the next bracket, only the amount over the bracket limit gets taxed at the higher rate. The IRS has tax tables that can help you figure out exactly how much you'll owe. Also, if you didn't have taxes withheld from your UI payments, you might want to make estimated tax payments to avoid underpayment penalties.

The unemployment system is such a mess though. Like why do they make it so hard to even file a simple claim? I spent THREE HOURS on the phone just trying to get someone to explain why my claim was taking so long.

@Isabella Ferreira You're absolutely right to be concerned about protecting your credit, but everyone here is correct - unemployment won't affect it at all! One thing I'd add is to make sure you file your weekly certifications on time once you get approved. Missing those can delay payments, and THAT could indirectly impact your credit if you can't make your other payments. Also, keep detailed records of your job search activities since NY requires you to be actively looking for work. The sooner you file, the sooner you can start getting those benefits you've already earned through your work history.

Just be careful about ATM fees!! I got hit with like $3 charges at random ATMs before I figured out the KeyBank ones are free. There's an app that shows you where the free ones are located.

I've been using my unemployment card for about 3 months now and it works pretty much everywhere. One tip - if you need cash, CVS and Walgreens usually allow cash back up to $35 with a purchase, even when grocery stores won't. Also, make sure to keep your receipts because sometimes transactions take a day or two to show up in your balance and you don't want to accidentally overdraft.

The whole NYS Department of Labor system is confusing as hell. They should just tell you exactly how they calculate everything instead of making you guess. I've been on unemployment twice and both times had to figure out the benefit amount thing on my own.

I went through this exact same confusion when I first filed! The key thing to understand is that NYS unemployment benefits are calculated based on your earnings during your "base period" (usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you filed). Your weekly benefit amount is roughly 50% of your average weekly wage during that period, up to the state maximum of $504 for 2025. With your $52K salary, $350 weekly sounds about right - that would be consistent with earning around $36K during your base period. The $600 amount people mention is likely leftover confusion from the federal FPUC payments that ended years ago. You can request a detailed benefit calculation from NYS Department of Labor if you want to verify the math, but your amount seems correct based on the standard formula.