With a short staff and high call volume, the unemployment centers are on overload.
In November the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry shut down the Altoona unemployment office and made layoffs state-wide.
Sara Goulet, spokesperson for the Department of Labor said “of the 521 people who were laid off about 330 some of those were people who answered phones.”
Heather Condon, a resident of Curwensville, said she’s tried since December to call the unemployment center but has only heard busy tones or dead-air.
“I don’t know I’ve probably spent about, oh, 10-15 hours calling and calling and calling,” Condon said.
Goulet said after the Senate denied a bill requesting $57.5 million, the department had no choice but to cut down on staff.
She said January is always the busiest month for unemployment claims and she recognizes why people feel frustrated.
“We ask people who have not been asked to call to before they call, to check UC.PA.Gov, where we have a number of frequently asked questions and answers, we have added additional tutorials and videos that we hope people self serve so that they can get an answer to their question and don’t need to call,” Goulet said.
But Condon said some answers just can’t be found online, and she has no choice to but to call in.
“Because you can’t, you can’t explain to them online what caused you to have a lapse in your claim,” Condon said.
Goulet said staff is working hard to take calls and is asking everyone to be patient.
She added that the best time to call is in the afternoon on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
“If you are put on hold, just stay on hold because if you do not get service by speaking to someone that day you will get a call back that evening or the next day,” Goulet said.
She said at the earliest, the issue can be taken to the legislature within a few weeks.
But Condon said that’s not quick enough.
“It affects everyone in the stat, people that already have it hard, it’s making it harder for them,” Condon said.
Goulet said about 30-40 people who were initially laid off have been placed in a different department.
It’s unclear that if funding does become available, how many people would be able to go back to the unemployment center.
