The state Labor Department has been swamped by a tidal wave of New Yorkers laid off because of the coronavirus pandemic who are all seeking unemployment benefits at the same time — a crush of inquiries that have frequently crashed its website and jammed its call lines.
The agency is now expanding its server capacity and boosting its manpower to meet the demand of people who’ve suddenly lost their jobs.
“We are experiencing an unprecedented increase in the volume of calls/traffic for UI claims. This surge has created intermittent interruptions in service,” the Labor Department said in a statement Thursday.
Its website has been averaging 250,000 logins per day — a 400-percent increase.
By noon on Thursday, it had 206,800 logins and 159,000 phone calls. On average, the agency receives 10,000 calls per day.
“We’re seeing over a 1,000-percent increase in claims in some areas across the state. To address this unprecedented increase we have added server capacity and dedicated more than 700 staff members to address the influx,” the agency said.
Government edicts to contain the epidemic have caused shutdowns of restaurants and hotels, putting thousands of people out of work.
