Bill McCamley

New Mexico’s phone system for unemployment benefits is hanging up on thousands of callers
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On Monday, March 30, the state of New Mexico announced a new and improved phone system for people who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and need help getting their unemployment checks, which many need to survive. Within hours, the system buckled under the weight of more than 500,000 calls.
The new call-in system, operated by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS), did little but hang up on people and tell them to try their call later, owing to the unprecedented volume.
“We have had half-a-million incoming calls by lunchtime,” said Bill McCamley, the cabinet secretary for DWS. The phone system was supposed to supplement the DWS website (jobs.state.nm.us), where salaried employees who have lost their jobs — and in the coming weeks, independent contractors, gig economy workers and the self-employed — are encouraged to file unemployment claims.
But not all New Mexicans have computers or broadband; some are not comfortable online and would rather talk to a live person; and still others run into complications with the online application and need human help. The website’s automated system for chat queries only connects people to a bot, which directs them back to the website and can’t answer specifics. So people call.