Our systems are currently facing an unprecedented inundation.

Between 3/23 & 3/28, our phone system recorded 8.2 million calls, compared to 50,000 in a typical week– a 16,000% increase.

The online filing system received 3.4 million visits, compared to 350,000 in a typical week.

We are addressing this by reducing volume and increasing capacity:

We are asking New Yorkers to help reduce the surge by only filing Unemployment Insurance claims on certain days, based on the first letter of their last name.

We are streamlining the process to make it quicker & automating additional pieces of the process so there are fewer reasons a filer has to call.

We are reminding all New Yorkers that even if filing is delayed, you WILL still receive the entire benefit you are entitled to.

We have dedicated 700 staff to DOL’s Telephone Claims Center.

Hundreds of additional staff – re-assigned from within DOL, borrowed from other agencies and new outside hires – are currently being onboarded and trained.

We have extended the call center hours, including expanding service to Saturdays and processing applications on Sundays.

We have added over 20 additional servers to support the website's capacity.

We will continue to double down on all of these efforts to serve every New Yorker who is filing for Unemployment Insurance.

Thank you for your patience.