COLUMBUS Ohio -- With Ohio’s jobless rate holding steady at 7.3 percent, not only is the unemployment funding out of money, the online website and call center are being flooded with calls and other obstacles. Since last week, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Service Representatives have been handling thousands of unemployment benefit applications.
So many that the department’s website and computer system crashed yesterday when technical glitches were exacerbated by exceptionally high demand, adding the frustration of waiting hours on the phone to the frustration of losing a job. Typically the department handles around 7,500 calls, since last week they have been averaging 80,000 calls daily.
The website and computer systems were back up and running by 8 a.m. this morning. Now ODJFS is hiring 120 temporary workers to handle the crush of jobless Ohioans. And with only $16 million in the funding left, the state will soon borrow money from the federal government to keep up.
The Bottom Line if you lose your job is to keep calling the unemployment hotline or applying through the website. It may take awhile, but you will eventually get through.
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