HOUSTON – After unemployment claims in Texas surged more than 1,800% in March, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) has been overloaded with calls, with many reporting hours-long wait times.
Now, TWC is asking Texans to use their area code to file unemployment claims online during specific times to ease the load and speed up the process to file for unemployment. The recommendation is expected to ease the backlog from over half a million Texans who’ve filed unemployment claims in the past 18 days.
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TWC says the surge in claims has led to long wait times, overwhelmed call centers and technical issues with the Unemployment Benefit Services portal.
Recommended Call and Access Times:
Area Codes Beginning with 9 Mon-Wed-Fri 8 a.m. to Noon.
Area Codes Beginning with 3, 4, 5,6 Mon-Wed-Fri 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Area Codes Beginning with 7, 8 Tues -Thurs-Sat 8 a.m. to Noon.
Area Codes Beginning with 2 Tues-Thurs-Sat 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
TWC says claims for individuals affected by COVID-19 are eligible to be backdated. For more information, you can visit the TWC webpage created specifically for dealing with those left unemployed because of the coronavirus pandemic.