She said, “It’s just really chaotic.”
Cooper Nowicki did not receive documentation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proving she was employed by the CDC until over a month after her layoff. Her jobless claim processing might have been further delayed in the absence of that documentation.
The federal layoffs occur at a time when the Georgia Department of Labor is already dealing with a number of difficulties. In the first quarter of 2025, the agency’s unemployment insurance claim processing rate was 12 percentage points lower than the federal average. Although the second quarter saw an improvement in performance, processing was still over nine percentage points below the norm.
Thanks to Gray Mollenkamp
Thanks to Gray Mollenkamp
Many of the department’s long-standing problems were made worse in 2020 when the COVID-19 epidemic inundated the office with an unparalleled volume of unemployment claims. Only 4% of calls were answered in the early months of the epidemic, and due to system capacity issues, 78% of calls never reached GDOL workers.
According to a Georgia Budget and Policy Institute assessment, GDOL has made improvements to its customer service and unemployment insurance system, but its $8.5 million budget for the 2025 fiscal year fell about $10 million short of what agency leaders asked the state to provide.
The department now employs just 871 people to service 35 offices throughout the state, a decrease of about 13% over the previous five years.
Additionally, GDOL’s efforts to modernize the information system used to process unemployment insurance claims coincide with the surge of newly unemployed people. According to a state audit released last month, the new system won’t go online until the next year.
In an effort to enhance customer service, the department has also introduced a virtual agent to take regular calls and a new CRM system.
However, other audit results indicate the department is having trouble managing its meager resources. For instance, GDOL stated that it had employed temporary workers to answer consumer calls since it lacks the funds for permanent labor.
The department acknowledged problems in a statement issued on Wednesday.
According to the statement, fewer than one-third of incoming callers do not connect with a live agent because to high call volumes and low staffing levels. Even though we’ve improved response rates significantly this year, personnel constraints still affect our ability to handle peak demand.
According to the statement, clients who choose a callback option usually get one within 24 working hours, and the department received 14,251 calls last week across all service lines.
For fiscal year 2024, the department was awarded more than $14 million in federal funding to update its unemployment insurance system and improve the user experience of its application process. Gov. Brian Kemp, however, directed state agencies to prepare leaner budgets in light of federal cuts included in Trump’s big, beautiful bill in a message dated July 11.
Although the CDC lay off almost 2,400 government employees in April, the state’s unemployment rate is still low overall. For the first time in almost a year, Georgia’s jobless rate dropped to 3.5% in May, and it remained there in June. In June, the national rate was 4.1%.
Some Georgians told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that they received automated messages when they emailed the agency and that their calls remained unanswered.
Before losing her employment earlier this year, Tyiesha Brown, an Atlanta resident, was a ramp agent for Delta Air Lines. She never received a response from the department regarding her claim during the four months she spent searching for a new employment.
When Brown lost her job, she had to use her retirement funds to provide for her family.
“To be honest, I had to cash out my 401(k), which is really awful,” said 34-year-old Brown. I have to start over now.
Although she was lucky to land a job three weeks ago, Brown said she is still unhappy with GDOL.
When they do get around to me, it will be like, “Well, now you don’t need it,” she added, because I now had a job. However, during those months, I did exactly what I was expected to do, which was to look for a job every day. I would still like my back wages.
The item has been updated to make it clear that the Georgia Department of Labor has employed temporary employees to help with consumer calls and that over two-thirds of incoming calls end up with a live agent. It has also been updated to reflect that there are 35 offices throughout the state, including the department’s Atlanta headquarters. The department’s call processing rate was explained in further detail.
