Trenton – Governor Jon S. Corzine today directed Labor Commissioner David J. Socolow to deploy an additional 130 emergency workers to process the growing backlog of unemployment benefit claims.

"Today we learned that the national unemployment rate hit a 15-year high of 6.7%," said Governor Corzine. "In the last two months, thousands of New Jersey citizens have lost their jobs as a result of the economic downturn. We must take immediate measures to assist these workers as they apply for unemployment benefits."

"These clearly are difficult times for New Jersey’s workers and we are striving to help workers and their families through this economic storm," said Commissioner Socolow. "Getting unemployment insurance benefits into the hands of workers who need them is vital to the economic well being, not just of workers, but also of our communities and our economy."

Beginning two months ago, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development started the process of hiring 77 intermittent staff to assist with the workload. There are 41 workers already on the job and 36 more are presently going through the hiring process.

Of the additional 130 emergency workers to be hired, 44 will be hired to work for the duration of the recession. The rest will be transferred from other departments or from within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Forty-six of the new emergency workers will be placed in the Department’s One-Stop Career Centers located throughout the state’s 21 counties.

If possible, claimants should apply for benefits online at www.njuifile.net. The Department implemented new technology last month to speed the process by providing claim filing in many cases without the need for an agent to complete the process. Each One-Stop Career Center has public access computers available for filing unemployment insurance claims and the Department is adding additional computers. In addition, public access computers are available in public libraries.

The Governor also announced that once the new workers are available, the work hours of the Reemployment Call Centers will be extended, operating from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm Monday through Friday and Saturdays from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm.

Information on filing for unemployment insurance benefits is accessible on the Department of Labor and Workforce Development home page at http://www.nj.gov/labor.

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Photos from Governor Corzine's public events are available in the Governor's Newsroom section on the State of New Jersey web page, http://www.nj.gov/governor/news/