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Nixon visits busy state unemployment centers

Sunday, January 18, 2009 | 6:57 p.m. CST

BY The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Jay Nixon visited state Employment Security workers to thank them for working overtime to process unemployment claims.

The new governor thanked them for their efforts in processing the 200,000-plus unemployment claims from across the state on Saturday.

Some of the employees have volunteered since July to work overtime, including Saturdays.

The state unemployment rate is between 6.5 percent and 7 percent.

About 100 phone lines were added for the three call centers statewide. Temporary staff has also been hired to help lift the burden.

Statewide, unemployment call centers are taking between 3,000-3,500 calls daily. Individual workers sometimes take up to 100 calls a day.

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