Labor Department Implements Customer-Service, Tech Improvements
to Address Historic Increase in Unemployment Claims
TRENTON – The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) has made a series of moves – from upgrading computer technology to adding personnel and boosting phone capacity – to get unemployment claims processed faster and customers’ questions answered quicker.
The announcement comes as record numbers of unemployment claims continue to flood the New Jersey Labor Department, and labor departments across the country.
“I feel it in the pit of my stomach for every worker’s claim we haven’t gotten to yet,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “We are paying benefits to nearly 300,000 New Jerseyans, but that is of little consequence if your claim isn’t one of them. Our entire staff empathizes with your frustration and uncertainty. That’s why we have been working around the clock to find solutions to common problems weighing on the system.”
Here is a list of the measures that have been, or are about to be, implemented to improve customer service at the Department:
“The unceasing efforts of our Division of Information Technology and Unemployment Insurance staff, coupled with the assistance of the Office of Information Technology staff, have enabled us to reconfigure our legacy computer systems to serve more customers than ever before,” said Asaro-Angelo. “They have been working nonstop since the pandemic struck New Jersey, and I want to thank them for their commitment to getting benefits to everyone who deserves them as quickly as possible.”
The number of jobless claims is far higher than New Jersey has ever experienced – 576,904 New Jerseyans applied for unemployment in the three weeks starting March 15. After the first week of the pandemic, the number of new claims jumped more than 1,600 percent from the week before COVID-19 struck.
The number of new unemployment claims moving through the system without issue has increased, thanks to the updated programming. Claims are being backdated, so anyone who has had trouble getting through will not lose a week of benefits.
It’s important to note that workers cannot choose to collect unemployment benefits if employment is available. A worker who voluntarily quits a job is ineligible for unemployment.
For more information on benefits eligibility, customers are urged to visit nj.gov/labor or MyUnemployment.nj.gov.