WACO, Texas — Thousands of Texans who tried to file unemployment insurance claims have found that the state's workforce commission's phone lines are jammed and website servers overloaded.
Prior to COVID-19, the Texas Workforce Commission would field between 13,000 to 20,000 calls per day. Last week, more than 1.5 million calls were made in a 24-hour period.
The state admits its overwhelmed but said they are making changes. Now, the Texas Workforce Center will be staggering times that you can file by the first digit of your area code.
In the last 18 days, the Texas Workforce Commission has helped more than 500,000 people file for unemployment. The week ending on March 21 saw an 860% increase in unemployment filings over the previous week's total.
Workforce Solutions of Central Texas in Killeen is one company that focuses on job placement. They mentioned that jobs right now have been more industry-specific.
"We have tried to help connect individuals with those essential jobs that we know will be working throughout this crisis," Marketing and Communications Director Charley Ayres said. "We have had pretty good luck with that but at the same time, that's not the excuse. There are businesses that are hurting and this is definitely been a strain on some of those."
Ayres said the biggest challenge for Workforce Solutions of Central Texas is the volume of people. They have fielded a little over 3,400 customers so far this week.
Residents in Central Texas have also asked if there is enough funding for people who qualify for U-I benefits.
"There's enough funding now and if necessary, we will seek additional funding from the federal government to ensure that everyone that needs benefits, gets benefits," Texas Workforce Commission Executive Director Ed Serna said. "You should not have to worry."
Also on KCENTV.com: