The New York States Department of Labor (“DOL”) today announced the initial Unemployment Insurance (“UI”) claims data for New York State for the week ending March 21, 2019 – the first week in which claims were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Initial Unemployment Insurance claims last week, increased over the past year by 520% in New York State.  Overall, more than 80,500 claims were filed last week. Initial claims for UI increased by a minimum of 284% in each of New York’s 10 labor market regions.

Additional information about New York State’s UI claims, including regional and industry, will be forthcoming.

From Monday, March 16 to Saturday, March 21, 2020 the New York State Department of Labor received over 1,734,100 total calls and over 2,270,300 web hits. DOL has taken a number of steps to address this unprecedented increase in call volume and web traffic, including implementing a new, more efficient filing system based on the first letter of the applicant's last name (alphabetical order):

A  - F : Monday
G – N : Tuesday
O – Z : Wednesday
Missed your day: Thursday through Saturday

The New York State Department of Labor is dedicated to ensuring that every New Yorker who is entitled to UI benefits will receive all benefits due.  New Yorkers seeking to file UI claims can visit labor.ny.gov or call the Telephone Claim Center at 888-783-1370.