Unemployment office in St. Louis will reopen
JEFFERSON CITY — To cut down on a backlog in unemployment claims, the state is reopening a call center in St. Louis that was closed by former Gov. Matt Blunt.
Gracia Backer, the employment security chief picked by Gov. Jay Nixon, gave the news to the Senate Gubernatorial Appointments Committee this morning. The committee later approved Backer’s nomination.
Backer said people whose claims are not challenged by their former employers get their first check in two to three weeks. However, it takes six to eight weeks to process claims when the employer protests or other questions must be addressed. The St. Louis office will focus on those more complicated cases, she said.
Backer said the office will reopen Feb. 23 in the state-owned Wainwright Building downtown. She said 35 of the center’s 60 state workers will return.
“We’re going to have a staff that’s going to hit the ground running,” Backer said. “We really hope it’s going to put a dent” in the backlog.
State employees have been working on holidays and weekends to catch up with the growing volume of claims. Last week, the state fielded 19,816 calls and received 21,462 claims for new benefits or rewewals.
This is Backer’s second time at the helm of the division. A former House member, she also ran the agency under former Gov. Bob Holden.
This had really caused a lot of hardship to those that have to relocate to Jefferson City about 6 months ago to work and now have to come back to St.Louis.I got a relative who is very dedicated to her job and the people she served,and it had taken a toll on her and the others involved.Hopefully when her and her co-workers get back to St.Louis the merry-go-round will stop.
This is great news — how insane = when the St Louis office was closed (I spoke to to some one in the office the friday morning it was closing) offices remained in KC and Springfield and all the St Louis calls were re-routed to Jeff City. Thank you Jay Nixon!!! for re-opening an office in the biggest metropolitan area in the state. Now maybe the state of MO can get back on track.
Not to sound like a jerk but to comment on the people having to move back to St Louis from Jeff City to keep a job, they should just bite their toungue and do it, I agree it sucks, but at least they have a job unlike all the people they are helpping. If they don’t want to move, they can join the ranks of people unemployed. As for the state taking 2 to 3 weeks to get aid to someone, or up to 6 weeks, that’s a great system, what do these families do that are with out jobs? 6 to 8 weeks is a long time to go and not have food! Late fees on rent, and other bills, the state should be working to get aid to them with in a week, if they don’t earn the unemployement you make them pay it back over a few years. We take care of people in other countries more than we take care of our own blood here at home.
To rj…it doesn’t matter where the office is, it’s a call center. So eliminating a call center in “the biggest metropolitan area in the state” does not matter because none of the citizens in that area know the difference.
S.M. If someone that I knew moved from St. Louis to Jefferson City, or vice versa, to work in a CALL CENTER, I would tell them to re-evaluate their life goals and seek some higher education. Sorry if I sound like a jerk, but these are not the most demanding jobs out there.
The problem with the unemployment insurance call centers is that they’ve been flat funded for years, not keeping up with inflation, and they’re still using technology from the 1980’s. Most states have automated services…we have 3 or 4 call centers throughout the state. It’s not going to fix itself overnight.
Nice to know someone is hiring. The way things are going I might need a job.
We *do* have an automated system…and have for at least 10 years that I know of. Call centers are for those claims where humans are required. Not every inquiry in the world can be handled via computer. Touch * for a live human.
I don’t think folks understand this job thing– either we are going to turn all the work over to computers, and let humans do other things, under a system where they get compensation which enables them to live, or we can have humans do the work. You cannot have a George Jetson system where the computers work, no people get paid, and society endures. Buckminster Fuller saw this problem 70 years ago, as did Alvin Toffler in the early 70s. It’s Wall Street that’s behind the curve.
Glad those folks get to go home. It’s been 5 years for my husband, and no end in sight.
Wait a second…….it is an employment office, not un-employment….people go there to find a job I thought, not go there to lose a job………..