Gov. Larry Hogan’s office addressed frustrated Marylanders trying to file for unemployment as thousands have been left temporarily or permanently without jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures.
Mike Ricci, Hogan’s communications director, said the state took more claims in March than in all of 2019. To alleviate some of the frustrations, Ricci tweeted out some information for those filing for unemployment to note.
He said the state has extended claim center call hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and call center employees are “working around the clock” to file claims.
Ricci also said they have added a dedicated email address for people to send in their questions and concerns without having to wait on hold. The email is ui.inquiry@maryland.gov.
“We have approximately 1,000 calls coming through in every two-hour period of time. Calls do end up getting dropped because the system can only handle so many calls at once,” Ricci said in a tweet.
Nearly 85,000 Marylanders filed for unemployment in the week ending on March 27, with more than 13,000 claims in Baltimore County.
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