Department of Workforce Development Secretary Caleb Frostman says additional hiring has enabled the agency to more unemployment cases. “We’ve added a thousand either employees or contractors since the start of COVID-19 to go from 500 to about 1600, and that’s starting to pay off,” Frostman told WHBY. “When we first brought them on in late May, we were making and taking a total of about 2,000 calls a day.”
Frostman said DWD is now able to handle 12,000 cases a day, and that people should continue to file weekly claims, even if it can be frustrating. DWD has come under fire for lengthy delays in processing new unemployment claims, and not being able to handle the call volume in its offices.
WHBY