Mar 11, 2021 2 min read

The state Department of Labor & Industry has undertaken an initiative designed to improve customer service.

“We plan to add 500 to 1,000 customer service representatives,” acting secretary Jennifer Berrier said in a virtual media briefing on Wednesday afternoon.

Complaints about delays, or outright inability, in reaching regional unemployment compensation call centers has been an issue throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Unemployment statewide became rampant early on, leading to 5.3 million new claims for jobless benefits. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate soared from 4.7% in February 2020 to 15.1% two months later.

Concerns have abated a bit, but the state jobless rate remains high at 6.7%. There have been a lot of claims and questions.

The new staffers, Berrier said, will be trained by June to answer phone calls. L&I also said it will hire and train 50 to 100 customer service team leaders. Those hirings will enable experienced staff to switch to resolving claims full time.

The department and its call center vendor, InspiriTec, are working together on the hires.

Those employees will join 1,600 others who are employed in L&I’s unemployment compensation program.

L&I is taking applications, which should be processed through a local CareerLink office.

Berrier said representatives addressed 30,406 calls last week, a 581% increase from 5,231 when the pandemic began last March. L&I had a much smaller call center staff then, however, one that was appropriate numbers-wise for a period of low unemployment.

The staff additions will cost up to $58.6 million, the department said – all of it federal funding.

Berrier said her department is “chipping away” at backlogs in communications. “We’re serving a population we’ve never served before.”

Since last March, the department says it has paid nearly $38.2 billion in jobless benefits; answered about 1.12 million calls; responded to more than 2.36 million emails (57,098 last week); and handled close to 245,000 online chats (3,491 last week).