New York Department of Labor - Unemployment Customer Service

Phone Number & Contact Info

New York Department of Labor - Unemployment's Best Phone Number

888-209-8124
Toll-free·Calls Claims Department·Most popular New York Department of Labor - Unemployment number
Free tools for easier calling
Q:

How do I talk to a live human at New York Department of Labor - Unemployment?

A:Keep pressing 0. Our free phone can also navigate phone menus to get a live human at New York Department of Labor - Unemployment for you.
Q:

Does New York Department of Labor - Unemployment offer 24 hour customer service?

A:Not at this number; hours here are Mon-Fri 8am-7:30pm EST. The least busy day is Friday, and the most busy day is Tuesday. If the call center is closed, you can schedule a call.
Q:

How long will I wait on hold?

A:The average hold time is 25 minutes. The longest hold times are on Friday, and the shortest are on Wednesday. You can skip the hold time for free.

New York Department of Labor - Unemployment Customer Phone Numbers

UI Claimant Advocate Office

855-528-5618
Toll-free · Mon-Fri 9am-4pm EST · Press 3 then 1 · · Free tools available: Talk for me, Skip the wait, Schedule my call

Employer Claims

888-890-5090
Toll-free · 24 hours, 7 days · Press 2 · · Free tools available: Talk for me, Skip the wait, Schedule my call

NY.gov ID

800-833-3000
Toll-free · Mon-Fri 8:30am-4:30pm EST · Press 1 then 1 · · Free tools available: Talk for me, Skip the wait, Schedule my call

How do I get through the phone menu to a live person?

Consider using our free service that calls and talks to customer service for you, then sends you a report. Or use our free service that waits on hold and tells you when a human rep is on the line. But if those options don't appeal to you, our team has also documented the phone menu for New York Department of Labor - Unemployment below.

Let us call and talk to New York Department of Labor - Unemployment for you

Our AI powered phone can dial, navigate the phone menu, wait on hold, and even talk to customer service for you, for free. You don't even need to learn about the path through the various phone options.

We can get a live person on the line for you

That same, free GetHuman Phone can call and navigate the menus and wait on hold for you, but you can opt to do all the talking. We notify you when a rep is on the line and ready to talk, so no need to worry about changing menu options and weaving your way through the maze.
Of course, we completely understand if you prefer to do all the dialing, waiting, and talking yourself. All of these free tools are optional.
GetHuman researchers routinely call this New York Department of Labor - Unemployment phone number to document the phone system.
Here is our latest tip for weaving through the phone menu to get to a real person the fastest: Keep pressing 0
Below are some clips we've found from New York Department of Labor - Unemployment's phone menus and tips that help give an idea of what you will encounter when you call. We've highlighted why they are important as well:

They may need the phone number on your account

"Welcome to the New York State Department of Labor unemployment insurance telephone claims line. To continue in English, press one. Please listen to the menu options and try again.
Welcome to the New York State Department of Labor After completing your call, are you willing to participate in a short automated survey regarding your After your call is completed, our system will automatically call you back for a brief survey.
If you would like us to call you back at the number you are calling from, press one."
Excerpt from a call with New York Department of Labor - Unemployment
Monday, October 21, 2024 4:58 PM

They may ask your reason for calling (instead of a menu)

"Welcome to the New York State Department of Labor unemployment insurance telephone claim After completing your call, are you willing to participate in a short automated survey regarding your experience today? Please press one for yes or two for no.
Our system has been updated to utilize speech to capture responses.
At any time, you can request the website link for additional information online by saying website, You can say things like, how do I file a claim, or how do I check the status of a payment?"
Excerpt from a call with New York Department of Labor - Unemployment
Monday, October 21, 2024 4:50 PM

They may ask you to enter information with the dial pad

"You can file a claim for unemployment benefits online at unemployment dot labor dot n y dot g o v If you prefer to file your claim over the phone, you can do so using our automated phone system. If you need to complete a claim that you started on the web or phone, you will need to speak to an agent. If you would like to file a claim or finish filing a claim using our automated phone system, please say yes to proceed. Let us get you authenticated. And then we can complete your request. New York State Department of Labor is an equal opportunity employer program provider. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.
Before we get started, I need to collect some information.
Please enter your nine digit Social Security number using your telephone keypad."
Excerpt from a call with New York Department of Labor - Unemployment
Monday, May 13, 2024 1:41 PM

They may ask you to say or enter information

"Welcome to the New York State Department of Labor unemployment insurance telephone claims line. To continue in English, press one. Our system has been updated to utilize speech recognition to capture responses.
At any time, you can request the website link for additional information online by saying website.
You can say things like, how do I file a claim, or how do I check the status of a payment?"
Excerpt from a call with New York Department of Labor - Unemployment
Monday, May 6, 2024 2:56 PM

What are the hours and when should I call?

New York Department of Labor - Unemployment operates the call center for this 888-209-8124 phone number Mon-Fri 8am-7:30pm ET. The short answer is that you should call on a Friday. This observation and the following section are based on analysis of a sample set of 797 calls made in the last 90 days using our free, web-based phone (see above).

Automatically call when they open

When you use our free AI-powered phone to call and talk, wait on hold, or navigate for you, it will automatically wait until the New York Department of Labor - Unemployment call center opens before trying to call. It will ask your permission before it places the call, so you can also further delay that scheduled call until you are ready. But that means you can "set it and forget it" ahead of time.
An important note: busy times vs hold times vs best time to call
When we refer to busy or less busy times, we are talking about the volume of calls. The busiest times are when the most people are calling this New York Department of Labor - Unemployment phone number (least busy times have fewer people calling). This high call volume does not necessarily mean that you will have a long hold time when you call. Companies like New York Department of Labor - Unemployment staff their call centers differently based on the time of day and day of the week, so you may experience a shorter wait on hold at the busiest of times. When we refer to the best time to call, we are referring to the optimal combination of lower call volume and shorter wait times.

The least busy time to call

The least busy day to call New York Department of Labor - Unemployment is Friday. The most busy day to call is Tuesday, which averages 33% more phone calls by comparison. Again, this is based on a sample of 797 calls made with our AI-powered, web-based phone in the last 90 days.
Mon
Tue
Busiest
Wed
Thu
Fri
Quietest

The shortest wait on hold

We measured the shortest hold times to be on Wednesday. The longest wait in the queue on average occurs on Friday.
But if you use our free call and talk for me or wait on hold for me service, you don't really need to worry about average wait times.

The best time to call New York Department of Labor - Unemployment

In summation, the best day to call New York Department of Labor - Unemployment is Friday. This is not the day with the shortest wait on hold in the phone system, but we still recommend it for its ideal combination of low call volume and short hold times. Plus we believe that New York Department of Labor - Unemployment staffs the call center well on Friday.

Calling this New York Department of Labor - Unemployment Customer Number

Christian Allen is the editor / author responsible for this content.
Oct 24, 2023

Calling this number offers some assistance if you're not an existing user of the New York Department of Labor's unemployment benefits, but it's limited. When you call, the system offers an automated helpline, but oddly, it's only available during regular business hours. If you call outside of business hours, you're instead told to call back Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern.

If you do call during regular business hours, you're taken to an automated menu and asked to speak about the issue that you need assistance with. When I dialed, I asked how I could file a claim in New York. The system told me I could file a claim online or over the phone and offered me the website I could use to get a claim started.

The system further told me that I could file a claim completely over the phone using the automated system, but if I needed to file a claim that I had started online, I would need to speak to an agent. It then asked if I had any further questions, and I asked how many weeks were available to claim in New York.

The system didn't quite understand my question and launched into an explanation that I could not claim unemployment benefits if I earned more than $504 in a week or worked more than 30 hours in a week. It also provided me with a link where I could look at partial unemployment benefits. I tried to ask the same question again, but the system once again did not understand.

At that point, I asked to speak to a customer representative to get my question answered. The system said it could redirect me to an agent, but it would have to authenticate me first. As this involved providing my Social Security number, I instead hung up at this point.

Overall, I thought there were some positives to calling this number. The presence of an automated system to answer questions is a good thing, and it seems to be at least half-decent at providing full and complete answers. However, I didn't understand why the system was only available during regular business hours, as it's an automated system that shouldn't need to work on a schedule. It would have made more sense had the system been set up to take calls at night without forwarding them to a live person after hours.

I also wasn't really impressed by the system's lack of understanding of some fairly basic principles. Knowing how many weeks you can claim unemployment is something that anyone working in this government branch should understand, and an automated system should expect that question. I do like how you can always ask to speak to someone when needed. Were I a genuine New York resident who needed assistance, I'd be willing to use this number.

Christian has been writing about long hold times and customer service call center experiences since 2010. He's been featured in Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe.

Why Customers Call New York Department of Labor - Unemployment

If you have time to do a bit of reading before you call New York Department of Labor - Unemployment, we recommend you read over some of our problem-specific articles.

How Do I Claim Unemployment Benefits with the New York Department of Labor?

If you have become unemployed in the state of New York, you may be eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits. To lessen the delay of receiving your potential benefits, file a claim as quickly as possible. To ensure you are likely to receive benefits, look at the New York eligibility requirements that you must fit. Once filing for unemployment, if you are having trouble with the process, the New York Department of Labor offers an unemployment assistance page.

How Do I Apply for Unemployment Benefits with the New York Department of Labor?

If you would like to apply for unemployment benefits in the state of New York, be certain to file immediately after you lose your job. You will need to gather the following: social security number, phone number, full mailing address, driver's license number, alien registration number (for non-US citizens), employment history for the previous 18 months, forms SF8 and SF50 if you were federally employed, and form DD214 (for military). Next, apply directly on the state of New York's website or by phone.

How Do I Check My Unemployment Benefits with the New York Department of Labor?

If you have been approved to receive unemployment benefits by the New York Department of Labor, you can check these benefits online. If you have not received your benefits yet, you can estimate the amount of money you will receive with the calculator located on the New York Department of Labor website. You can check your weekly unemployment benefits either online or by calling the office of the New York City Department of labor.

Top New York Department of Labor - Unemployment customer service problems

Click the link above to get answers to just about any New York Department of Labor - Unemployment customer service question, including step by step guides for the most complex issues. You can also detail a new issue and get answers instantly.
Below is a sample of recent calls to New York Department of Labor - Unemployment, and their purpose. Are any of these similar to the reason you are trying to call?
Partial unemployment inquiry: "I have a question about partial unemployment."
- From a call lasting 1m 51s , Nov 4, 2024 5:16 PM
Information about why customers call New York Department of Labor - Unemployment is extracted from issues that customers have reported to GetHuman.
New York Department of Labor - Unemployment issues reported to GetHuman

More New York Department of Labor - Unemployment Customer Service Contacts

There are of course other ways to contact New York Department of Labor - Unemployment customer service besides the phone. Below we list the best ones, by medium.

New York Department of Labor - Unemployment Customer Help Desk / Web Support

labor.ny.gov - Customer Service
Online customer service support
As a last, sometimes only, resort- New York Department of Labor - Unemployment customer service can be accessed through their website. This can entail digging through help articles before finding a form and "being allowed" to submit a problem to their team, and rarely leads to a real-time conversation, which is why GetHuman does not recommend this unless it's the only way.

Conclusion and closing notes

This is New York Department of Labor - Unemployment's best phone number, the real-time current wait on hold and tools for skipping right through those phone lines to get right to a New York Department of Labor - Unemployment agent. This phone number is New York Department of Labor - Unemployment's best phone number because 16,728 customers like you used this contact information over the last 18 months and gave us feedback. Common problems addressed by the customer care unit that answers calls to 888-209-8124 include Problem with a claim, Make a claim and other customer service issues. Rather than trying to call New York Department of Labor - Unemployment first, consider describing your issue first; from that we may be able to recommend an optimal way to contact them via phone or web. In total, New York Department of Labor - Unemployment has 4 phone numbers. It's not always clear what is the best way to talk to New York Department of Labor - Unemployment representatives, so we started compiling this information built from suggestions from the customer community. Please keep sharing your experiences so we can continue to improve this free resource.

GetHuman does not provide call center services or customer support operations for New York Department of Labor - Unemployment. The two organizations are not related. GetHuman builds free tools and shares information to help customers of companies like New York Department of Labor - Unemployment. For large companies that includes tools such as our GetHuman Phone, which allows you to call a company but skip the part where you wait on the line to get a live human rep. We continue to work on these tools to help customers like you (and ourselves!) navigate the messy phone menus, hold times, and confusion with customer service. As long as you keep sharing it with your friends and loved ones, we'll keep doing it.

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