The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

July 25, 2012

Filing jobless claims keeps Pa. unemployed very busy

By Michael Roknick Herald Business Editor

MERCER COUNTY — Getting through to one of the state’s unemployment call centers has become an adventure, with one local legislator blaming staff cutbacks for the woes.

Unemployed Pennsylvania residents seeking to file or update a jobless claim are given a toll-free number to phone in the required information. The problem is that number is almost  busy.

One local resident said she tried at least 50 times over the past two weeks to phone in her updated information but couldn’t because the line was constantly busy. Exasperated, she contacted a regional office for the state Department of Labor & Industry and was given two different phone numbers to try. Both numbers had been disconnected.

Filing updated information online was fruitless, too; she never got a confirmation her e-mails had been received and needed to talk to a human being.

The Labor Department acknowledges the centers at times get inundated but said the overall call volume is down. First-time unemployment claims are down 40.7 percent from January and continuing claims are down 37.5 percent over the same period. Still, current unemployment rates aren’t at pre-recessionary levels.

 “The best time to call is later in the day and later in the week,’’ said Christopher Manlove, a Labor Department spokesman. “Call volumes are very high on Monday mornings but things level out later in the day and later in the week.’’

All of the nine or so unemployment call centers scattered throughout the state are phone networked together.

The idea is if one gets too busy another center can pick up the slack. If all the centers experience a heavy call volume, people get a busy signal.

“If you’re put on hold, don’t hang up,’’ Manlove advised. “And if you call and get a busy signal, wait awhile then call again.’’

He also advised people to try use the department’s online services at: dli.state.pa.us

Difficulty in getting a front-line state employee isn’t unique to the Labor Department, said state Rep. Mark Longietti, D-7th District.

The Hermitage legislator said it took him a couple days to reach someone at the state Revenue Department. He was told by officials in that agency that staff cutbacks left fewer people to man the phones.  

Reduced staffing levels throughout the state in recent years are causing true hardships for residents, Longietti added.

“Contrary to what the public believes, these agencies are very understaffed in some cases,’’ Longietti said. “But when I hear somebody has tried to reach someone in the state 50 times without luck, that’s very disturbing to me.’’

Longietti said people having problems filing or updating their unemployment claims call their local legislator who can look into the problem.

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