Bill Scher: The Growing Unemployment Line

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from OurFuture.org:



The Growing Unemployment Line
By Bill Scher

November 21st, 2008 - 10:54am ET



Front page of the Daily Hampshire Gazette here in Northampton, MA offers some stark news. Unemployment lines have more than doubled since last year in the Western MA counties of Hampshire and Franklin, and the state unemployment offices don't have the staff yet to deal with it:

When she lost her job in the local building trades, Sarah McCoy knew she'd have to tune up a resume and scour job listings.

What the single mother of two teenagers didn't expect were the delays she faced in filing her claim for jobless benefits.

"It is what it is, as far as getting laid off," McCoy said Thursday. "But to not be able to apply is a problem. ... Does anybody get how frustrating this is?"

...

In the Valley, she and others have been seeking help from offices run by the Franklin-Hampshire Career Centers.

The line of unemployed people forms early these days outside the Northampton office at 178 Industrial Drive. But because the office has only one unemployment assurance specialist, people face waits for in-person help as well as telephone contact.

This time of year is historically busy for the career centers, as construction firms begin seasonal layoffs. The falling economy has intensified the mismatch between need and staffing, pushing waits up dramatically in the last month.

"We're not dealing with normal times," said Michael Truckey, the Franklin-Hampshire program's executive director.

The career centers in Greenfield and Northampton received visits from 561 new customers in October, a 120 percent increase over the 254 who came for the first time in October 2007.

Many mornings this month, a line has been forming by 8 a.m. outside the Northampton office, half an hour before it opens. ... Though claims can be taken over the state's phone system ... some newly jobless people prefer to have a face-to-face interview. Many have no doubt given up on the telephone delays that hit 1 hour and 47 minutes last week, Truckey said.

State officials told the Gazette that the call centers would get additional staffing this month and next to cut down the phone delays. But Massachusetts, like 40 other states, is facing budget shortfalls. Trying to put the proverbial fire out at its unemployment call centers means less resources to put out other fires. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2008114721/growing-unemployment-line