Pa. unemployment office adds hundreds of call center staffers to handle surge

Pennsylvania’s unemployment office will add hundreds of call center workers to handle an ongoing surge in calls that has frustrated residents unable to connect with questions about their claims.

The Department of Labor & Industry announced Wednesday it will hire and train at least 500 customer service representatives by June to answer calls and gather information about unemployment compensation inquires. The department, which administers state and federal unemployment benefit programs, will also hire 50-100 customer service managers.

The hires will allow the department to reassign experienced staff to work on resolving claims, Labor & Industry said in a news release.

Since the pandemic forced the closure of businesses across the state in March, Pennsylvania receivedhistoricnumbersofunemploymentclaimsandlaunchednew systems to administer emergency federalunemploymentcompensation programs that were created in response to the pandemic. It also responded to fraudulent claims attempting to steal benefits in the names of identity theft victims.

Residents whose claims were not immediately approved have reported being unable to connect with the department by phone or email, and becoming desperate for answers about when they would receive benefits.

“To the individuals on unemployment programs who’ve struggled to reach one of our customer service representatives, we’ve not only heard you — we listened,” acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier said.

Labor & Industry is working with its call center contractor, InspiriTec, to hire the initial 500 workers by June. If needed, the department is prepared to hire up to 1,000 customer service staff. People interested in applying for a Labor & Industry call center job should contact their local PA CareerLink offices.

The improvements to the unemployment call center follow the addition of staff earlier in the pandemic and the reassignment of workers from other offices and departments to handle questions about claims. Labor & Industry more than doubled the number of call center staff from 775 in March 2020 to 1,730 now, the department said.