SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's unemployment agency is not answering 60% of the calls it receives for help as the state struggles to work through a backlog of more than 1 million pending claims.
Employment Development Director Sharon Hilliard told a panel of frustrated state lawmakers on Monday that California is on pace to have 3,700 people working in its call center by January.
That's compared to the 350 it had working before the pandemic. Hilliard said the state is receiving about 6.7 million calls a week.
The state has processed 10.6 million unemployment claims since March and paid more than $67 billion in benefits.
