I see. I misunderstood. I thought you meant someone would come to the unemployment office with a notice of being laid off, and declare being unemployed, despite

I see. I misunderstood. I thought you meant someone would come to the unemployment office with a notice of being laid off, and declare being unemployed, despite having other jobs. I have no experience with filing for unemployment. I reviewed the New York "Unemployment Insurance A Claimant Handbook" at http://www.labor.state.ny.us/formsdocs/ui/TC318.3e.pdf http://www.labor.state.ny.us/formsdocs/ui/TC318.3e.pdf . It confirms your understanding; even working for a fraction of an hour counts as "work", so someone with a job teaching 3 hours a week is employed and cannot file for unemployment benefits.