Need to file for unemployment? NY partners with Google to fix labor department website – syracuse.com

If youre still having trouble filing for unemployment, the Empire State has good news for you.

The New York State Department of Labor announced Monday that it has partnered with Google to fix its website for out-of-work New Yorkers who need to file for unemployment. The Labor Department website crashed in mid-March as tens of thousands tried to get benefits due to non-essential businesses shutting down amid the coronavirus pandemic; more than 10 million Americans have filed initial claims nationwide in the past two weeks.

Melissa DeRosa, secretary to Governor Andrew Cuomo, said Monday that the state has gone from four servers to 50 to try and handle the huge increase in website traffic.

Just so everyone understands, at the peak of the 2008 crisis, the single largest day of claims was 13,000 in one day. We had six times that just two days ago. So, this volume is something that weve never experienced before," DeRosa said, according to CBS 6 Albany.

Its frustrating, its horrible, its unacceptable, but we just ask that people remain patient.

According to the Times Union, the Labor Department is also working with Google to develop a new website with a better interface, and has hired 300 more people on top of 700 staffers added last month to help keep up with phone calls and other inquiries.

We are trying to do everything we can to attack this issue, DeRosa said.

New York state said its seen a 1,075% increase in jobless claims so far in 2020, compared to 2019, but those numbers do not include people who have been unable to file due to website issues and a large volume of phone calls. One Upstate woman said she filled out an online unemployment application, but learned she needed to talk to a representative to finish the claim, and had to call the department more than 4,000 times over two weeks just to complete it.

CBS 6 reports DeRosa said anyone struggling to file will get benefits back to the date of their unemployment, even if there was a delay in getting signed up.

Due to enormous volume there will be considerable wait time. Please be patient; everyone who is entitled will get their benefits, the labor department website says.

The best way to file an unemployment claim is online at https://applications.labor.ny.gov/Individual.

Do not call the Telephone Claims Center unless you are instructed to call to complete your application, the labor department says. If you are instructed to call to complete your claim, the only valid number is 1-888-209-8124.

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Need to file for unemployment? NY partners with Google to fix labor department website - syracuse.com