Video Story
Watch VideoBad economy means long wait for unemployed
Story By: David Tauchen
Source: KOAA
Published Thu Aug 21, 2008, 10:44 PM MDT
Updated Thu Aug 21, 2008, 11:35 PM MDT
As Colorado's unemployment rate rises, so do the wait times for callers claiming unemployment insurance. Some are waiting as much as two hours to speak with a representative, the Department if Labor and Employment says.
"If you call us at the wrong time you're going to wait pretty long," said Mike Cullen, Director of Unemployment Insurance.
Why the back up? The call center at the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment is a experiencing high volume--as many as 6,000 calls per week. Cullen says the bad economy is partly to blame. The construction and financial sectors have experienced job losses. Adding to those callers is a recently passed Federal Emergency Compensation Bill that qualifies nearly 120,000 Coloradans for extended unemployment benefits.
"The combination of an economy that is not very strong right now and this federal program has really hit us hard," said Cullen.
Colorado's unemployment rate rose to its highest level in three years at 5.2 percent in July. Last year the rate was only 3.8 percent in July. In Colorado Springs the unemployment rate is 6.1 percent.
Economists have noted job losses in construction, manufacturing, information and financial sectors. However, they say the state added jobs--about 1.3 percent over a year ago. The higher unemployment comes from a larger workforce.
"That's part of the reason the unemployment rate is moving up a little," said Alexandra Hall, Chief Economist at the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. "It's not just because people are losing their jobs, but because more people are looking for them."
A year ago the work force in Colorado was 2.7 million people, according to Hall. This year it grew to 2.76 million, an increase of 60,000 people.
With the current economy, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has added 10 temporary staff to handle new claims. They are also working overtime to deal with the number of claims.
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment recommends people file online. Here are some other suggestions officials are making to avoid long wait times:
-If filing your bi-weekly filing, try doing it Monday or Tuesday instead of Sunday. Systems are being overloaded on Sunday thus causing problems.
-If wanting to verify that your CAP Card was mailed, wait 24 hours after you have completed the filing and then go into the CUB System, under option 3 and check for the date of last warrant mailed.
-If you have a question, search the website, your handbook, and your claim materials, for the answer to your question.
-Be pro-active in regard to getting your first CAP Card on a new claim. Be sure that you are registered with your local workforce office, complete and return all required forms right away, complete your bi-weekly filings on a regular schedule, verify that they took in the system, if in doubt remember that it takes about 3 to 5 weeks to get most claims processed, and if your last employer paid you some "other pay" it could postpone benefits, for the time/hours they paid you for.
