OAKLAND PARK, FLA. (WSVN) - As an unprecedented number of South Florida residents find themselves out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic, many who are applying for unemployment benefits said the state’s unemployment portal is not working properly, and they have been unable to reach someone on the phone.
Among those struggling to make ends meet is Kellie Richter, a physical therapist assistant who gets paid for every patient she sees. However, with the new social distancing rules in place, she’s not able to keep her appointments.
Richter said she has been trying to get through the unemployment portal but isn’t having any luck.
“I hope someday that somebody is going to pick up the phone soon because otherwise I’m in trouble, big trouble,” she said. “I have this month of bills, and then I’m in trouble, and I own a house by myself. I’m a single mom.”
Linda Schonning, who does hair and makeup for weddings, shared a similar story.
“I don’t have an income coming in right now,” she said.
With more wedding cancellations coming every week, she’s not sure how long she’ll be out of work.
“Here I am, struggling again, trying to figure out how I’m going to get the unemployment to answer my questions,” she said.
Hamid Borjian owns Rocket at Valentino’s, a pizzeria in Pompano Beach. Like so many other restaurants and bars, he was forced to stick to takeout orders only.
Borjian said even those sales are down by more than half.
“When you go there to their website, you follow the prompt, it just basically stalls,” he said.
When 7News tried to use the system online, it lagged and even kicked them off a few times, forcing them to start over.
We then called the number listed on the website to hear the following message: “We are currently experiencing higher than average wait times.”
A representative with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said they have hired 250 additional employees to answer calls and will be adding an additional 50 by the end of the week.
But with hundreds of thousands of people applying for unemployment in the last three weeks alone, some said it’s just not enough.
“Just something, but they’re doing nothing,” said Schonning.
Tiffany Vause, the director of communications for the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, is scheduled to speak with 7News about these issues on Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs predicts the percentage of unemployed Americans could reach 15% because of the pandemic.
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