NMDWS urges claimants to utilize online services for unemployment insurance; if calling in, abide by designated call days
For Immediate Release
November 30, 2020
Contact: Stacy Johnston
Acting Public Information Officer
505.250.3926
NMDWS urges claimants to utilize online services for unemployment insurance; if calling in, abide by designated call days
(Albuquerque, NM) – The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (NMDWS) continues to receive an unprecedented number of calls to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Operations Center. Claimants are urged to utilize online services whenever possible. In the event a claimant needs to speak with a Customer Service Agent, they are asked to abide by the call-in schedule to assist in reducing phone line congestion.
Online services for UI benefits can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, apart from scheduled maintenance, at www.jobs.state.nm.us.
Individuals who call the Unemployment Insurance Operations Center (1-877-664-6984) have a designated day to call based on the last number of their Social Security Number (SSN).
The guide for calling using the last number of SSN is as follows:
0 - 3 : Monday
4 – 6 : Tuesday
7 – 9 : Wednesday
Missed your day: Thursday and Friday
Filing an initial claim or completing a weekly certification later in the week will not delay payments or affect the date of an individual’s claim, since all claims are effective on the Sunday of the week in which they are filed. The UI Operations Center is available Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Individuals calling to ask questions regarding the one-time $1,200 New Mexico Worker Pandemic Benefit (NM WPB) can find answers on the department website at https://www.dws.state.nm.us/COVID-19-Info, or refer to the informational video posted yesterday, November 29th, to the NMDWS YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/NMDWS.
There is not a separate application to apply for NM WPB – individuals are eligible as long as they certify and are eligible to receive benefits for qualifying weeks of November 22-28 or November 29 through December 5. Claimants who were receiving benefits but exhausted their benefits between September 12, 2020 and November 25 are eligible for NM WPB. There is no need for claimants to call or apply separately for this benefit.
Claimants who have received the maximum 39 weeks of benefits as of September 12 will receive direct communication from NMDWS in the following weeks on eligibility for NM WPB.
As of this morning, Monday, November 30, 2020, over 121,000 calls were recorded before 9:00 a.m. The UI Operations Center has a hold queue, however, once the queue is full it will provide an automatic response that all lines are busy and to try back later. As Customer Service Agents complete a call, they will pull the next caller from the hold queue, opening up a spot for a new caller to be placed on hold.
Online services (www.jobs.state.nm.us) provide individuals with fast, secure, and convenient access to their UI claim and benefit information.
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