Pictured is a piggy bank with cash.
© Susan Tompor/Detroit Free Press / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(New York, NY) — New York State is raising its unemployment insurance benefits for the first time in years.
It’s all part of Governor Kathy Hochul’s final budget agreement with the state legislature in a move to pay off more than six billion dollars’ worth of unemployment insurance debt.
Weekly unemployment benefits have been capped at 504 dollars since 2019 and as of October 2025, they’ll now increase weekly to a maximum of 869 dollars. Governor Hochul says New York is now delivering long-overdue relief to workers and businesses, especially for those employed in seasonal jobs.
