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Workforce stuff here! As @GovHolcomb gives the batting order, Fred Payne is lead off hitter. https://twitter.com/GovHolcomb/status/1253386943251001344
Rates continue to decline he says, but from a historical persepctive that's triple the record number before all this. Total payament of 1 million UI payments to about 350k people. 470 million dollars paid out, includes PUC +$600 amount.
"We continue to work on" issues in the call center says Payne. "We'll continue to make those adjustments." Says they want to focus on reducing wait time. Top reason he says people call in fall under the "general question" category.
He lists examples and says "all of these questions are typically answered with our self-help tools." He says it takes a massive amount of time to answer those questions and it adds to the time people with more specific question have to wait.
"We want to assure you that we are doing everything within our power to reduce that wait time," he says. They are training and adding more staff and re-coding some computer programs to help. "We will continue to be as aggressive as we can" he says about getting info to public.
Now onto the PUA program. (Help for self-employed plus people who don't have long work histories to base UI claims on.)
Payne: "As a reminder, we had to build a new system from the ground up." Starting TOMORROW, the DWD will start accepting applications for PUA. Starting at 7 p.m. tonight, the Uplink online system will be down briefly for those changes. Payments begin May 8 he says.
"When a person files, keep in mind it's a 21-day average period [from the time you file to the time you get $]." It just depends on the situation you're in he says.
Although DWD's primary focus right now is to get UI benefits to people who qualify, he notes that the agency is still tasked with connecting people with skills and jobs. They have virtual job fairs coming up and have already had a bunch. More at http://DWD.in.gov news tab.
"We continue to upgrade, and adjust, and improve our systems," Payne says at the end of his statement.
The initial claim filed represents a person who filed. When Payne talks about payments made, that's probably going to be higher because it represents the number of weeks someone has been paid - and that could include back pay.
