Font Resize
LAS CRUCES - Roque Padilla sat and waited Friday - and waited some more - at the Las Cruces office of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.
Padilla's low, steady voice belied the anxiety he really felt. Padilla, out of work and waiting to certify his unemployment status so he can continue to receive unemployment benefits, was stressed.
"I've been waiting to use the telephone here for hours so I can certify," said Padilla, of the weekly procedure the department requires. "It's frustrating because you have to come in here and sign up to use the phone. Then you have to wait while others ahead of you make their calls, and there's no telling how long it takes them to finish a call. They (DWS) can put you on hold for hours; I've waited as long as four hours to talk to an operator. It's crazy, it doesn't work and just creates a lot of stress for everybody who has to go through this."
Mary Jimenez, an unemployed housekeeper, said she has had the same experiences.
"Can't something be done?" asked an exasperated Jimenez. "There's a lot of people here who need help. Their (unemployment) situations weren't all caused by themselves. Some of us had good jobs, but when the economy went bad we lost them.
"I don't think I'm asking for anything unrealistic, but I need help, I really need help."
Many of the jobless are using
Sometimes those waits can even last for days.
"A lot of their concerns are probably true," said Richard Wagner, area director of the Workforce Solution office in Las Cruces. "Unfortunately, because of the decline of economy, there are hundreds and possibly thousands of people who are also trying to access services through the call center. There are only about 35 to 40 operators available to answer calls on 999 phone lines, and that's because of budgetary considerations. Everyone is well aware of the situation regarding the state's budget, and like every other department in state government, those budgetary limitations are affecting us, too. There's only so many people who can be answering calls at a given time."
But Alexis Tirre, an unemployed waitress, mused, "Why couldn't they hire people to answer phones. There's a lot of people looking for jobs; why not kill two birds with one stone by putting more people to work answering phones and getting rid of the hassles that people have in trying to take care of their claims."
But Wagner said there doesn't appear to be any easy fixes. He said some unemployment claims, such as certifying, can be done on the DWS website, www.dws.state.nm.us, and that could help reduce the congestion of all the calls being made to the department's call center. But there are some unemployment claims procedures that require a person to speak to a customer service representative.
In December, DWS launched a "call back" function, called virtual hold, to try to improve service for unemployed residents. The self service, toll-free phone line has a call back feature so customers do not have to stay on hold for lengthy periods.
The option allows the customer a choice to stay on hold or have the department call them back in a set amount of time, essentially holding the customer's place in line without keeping them tied to a phone. The new service is available from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Officials with DWS continue to encourage unemployed claimants to continue to file new claims and perform weekly certifications through the department's website. Claimants who do not have access to a computer can visit any of the 26 Workforce Connection Centers statewide, or go to a public library where they can use a computer for free.
Wagner also suggested to unemployed residents that they try to avoid trying to contact the call center Mondays through Wednesdays, because those are typically the busiest days when as many as 30,000 calls a day are placed. He also said people can keep calling back if they can't get through to the call center.
"Because of the shear number of calls that can be placed at a given time, the (phone) system can begin backing up when 180 or more calls are made to the call center at the same time," Wagner said.
But Jimenez said patience can be awfully short for someone who is desperate because they need a quick resolution to their unemployment claims because of mounting bills or other financial problems. Circumstances such as the call center being closed Monday, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, obviously don't help.
"It might be a holiday for them, but my bill collectors aren't going to give me a holiday," Jimenez said. "That's the point, something needs to be done to help all of the people this system is messing up. Isn't there somebody out there who can do something."
Officials with DWS said claimants should plan accordingly for Monday's holiday. The Unemployment Claims System website, at www.dws.state.nm.us, will be available from 3 a.m. to 8 p.m. Banks and other financial institutions and the U.S. Postal Service will also be closed Monday, and the closures could result in a delay of processing transactions for unemployment insurance debit cards and direct deposit benefit payments.
Steve Ramirez can be reached at (575) 541-5452.
Hello? Please help me!
•Based on New Mexico's current unemployment rate of 8.5 percent, there are approximately 170,592 residents who are unemployed.
•The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) Unemployment Insurance Call Center currently has about 35 operators to staff 999 phone lines that unemployed residents call daily to update their jobless status, apply for benefits or extension of benefits, or file an appeal to a claim.
•Some, but not all, unemployment benefit procedures can be processed on the Internet at: www.dws.state.nm.us.
•According to DWS officials, the call center receives about 10,000 calls a day.
•The Unemployment Insurance Call Center has a toll-free number of (877) 664-6984, and operates from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
•It will be closed Monday for Martin Luther King
•Wait times for claimants can range from minutes to hours, and in some instances, days.
