Call center adds Saturday hours for unemployment claims in S.C.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce is providing more opportunities for you to get assistance with your unemployment claims.

The state’s call centers are taking incoming calls on Saturdays for the first time. On Saturday, the center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The department says more than 400,000 in South Carolina have filed new claims in the past six weeks.

It's overwhelming the system and causing delays. Employment officials are working to improve the process.

The South Carolina Department of Employment and workforce says their staff had been working on previous Saturdays making outbound calls only.

The department also has new extended call center hours Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

They also increased the number of call takers. They had 49 and now have 450.

The department says they still have a record number of unemployed people in the state and they are doing everything they can to simplify the system and help people successfully navigate the claims process.

Officials say they've seen a significant two-week decline in the number of people filing new claims.

They say two weeks ago the high of new claims filed in one week was 87,686 claims.

This past week that number went down to 22,552 claims.

You can reach the call center at 1-866-831-1724.

You can visit the department’s website or its social media platforms for more employment information.

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