Surge in unemployed forces labor department to add staff

By By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer

Story Created: Dec 9, 2008 at 4:50 PM EST

Story Updated: Dec 9, 2008 at 4:50 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) - The state labor department says it is adding
staff to avoid being overwhelmed by a surge in calls from people
asking about government unemployment benefits.

Nearly 826,000 people phoned the department's call centers in November, up from 322,000 during the same month the year before.

The big increase resulted in longer wait times or trouble getting through for some callers.

In response the department plans to double the number of people at its Tel-Claims call centers by the end of the month.

The call centers will also get longer operating hours.

State officials say more than 92,000 New Yorkers filed new claims for unemployment benefits in November, up from about 58,000 during the same month in 2007.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

What's On