Alabama scheduling jobless calls due to increase

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A big jump in Alabamians applying for unemployment benefits is causing the state to schedule days for people to call.

State Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees said Friday the schedule is designed to decrease the time that people spend waiting on the phone, particularly on Mondays. That is the busiest day of the week for new claims because most layoffs occur at the end of the business week.

Previously, unemployed Alabamians could call a toll-free number at the Department of Industrial Relations on any business day to apply for benefits.

But starting next week, Mondays will be reserved for people with Social Security numbers ending in digits zero through four. Tuesdays will be reserved for people with Social Security numbers ending in five through nine. Anyone can call to apply on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Industrial Relations spokeswoman Tara Hutchison said calls are up about 25 percent from a year ago and the average waiting time has been 50 to 60 minutes on Mondays and Tuesdays and 30 to 45 minutes the rest of the week.

Alabama's unemployment rate in October was 5.6 percent, which was up from 3.5 percent a year ago. Alabama's rate was the state's highest in nearly five years.

The Department of Industrial Relations reported that 31,444 Alabamians filed their initial claims for unemployment benefits in October. That was a 62 percent increase from a year earlier.

The level of calls is not likely to get better. Ahmad Ijaz, an economic researcher at the University of Alabama, is forecasting the state's jobless rate will keep inching up early in the new year.

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