The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development review: Unable to file due to phone hang ups, etc 124

This must be the the new policy that is aimed at reducing unemployment claims that in turn shows how the current administrations policies are improving the economy. And you fools want these people to take over health care... DMV processing at the ER anyone?

I can't get through to anyone either. I began trying last Monday Jan. 18th 2010. This morning (the 25th) I finally got through to a person after a 25 min. wait (I honestly don't mind waiting, just don't hang up on me!). She asked for my social, asked if I was reopening a claim (which I was, and am unable to do online) and she transfered me to the same numbers that hang up on me for "the high call volume." I'm gonna cry, this is a nightmare! I have no food money. Please if anyone is out there please help!

These people are a joke I was told I had to file through NJ back in October (I currently live in FL) took them a month just to give me anything because I had to be "interviewed". Then I never had my direct deposit form processed until the end of December. Today I'm expecting my check via DD and there's nothing, only to find out that they're stalling my check because I registered in school and didn't get pre-approval from them to attend school. Why do I need approval to attend school? I can't find work I may as well do something useful with my time while I keep looking AM I WRONG?! Now I have bills due this week that I can't pay because they're holding my check. Called and spoke with someone by the name of Linda who was helpful and directed me to someone that other person was not and directed me back to Customer service. Called and waited 45 mins only to be put on the phone with a lady who said HOLD ON and stuck me back in the queue and having to hang up because it just rang for 20 mins. What is so difficult about picking up the phone and answering a question and assisting someone.

I had a claim opened last year that expired on 2/5/10. Therefore, I had to open a new claim. I have been calling the Union City Call Center for 2 weeks now many time a day to file a new claim. I am unable to do it on my computer because I revoked the Unemployment Online User ID & Password. I've traveled to Hackensack twice to see if someone there could open a new claim for me & the woman at the desk told me they no longer do it; I would need to call the #. My SS# ends in a specific # so I could not call this Monday because it was Presidents day & Unemployment was closed. I can only call this week on Thursday & Friday. I've called 408 times today & all I get is "due to the high volume of call, we cannot assist you, call back later". I am now sending e-mails to NJ state officials complaining to see if I can get some help. Is the state of NJ purposely trying to withhold the $ from me? It certainly seems that way!

ive been calling and calling.. and calling.. and calling.. the 4 different numbers provided on my form.. yet i keep getting the.. "due to the high call volume we r not able to take ur call" and it automatically hangs up on me.. like seriously wtf. i need to file my claim and it seems like the board is just punking us. this has been happening for the past week

I've called at least roughly 200 times in the last 2 weeks to no avail. I can't do the internet due to the fact that I worked out of state in the last 18 months. This is beyond ridiculous, I collected from Pa in the last year and you wait aprrox 30 minutes get thru to someone and your done. Somebody should be fired. I just love the instructions in english and spanish for about 2 minutes BEFORE they give you the option to c ontinue in english.

I went to the Paterson office to find out why I was only getting credit for calling and no check. I showed her I worked more then 6 weeks after i was let go and made 6 times the amount as the book stated. She wrote up paper work made copies and said Trenton was cutting me a check that day..well that was a week a ago and no check . Like all other waiting on the phone SUCKS . But when I got through this other women said O that s not true .. U are not getting a check OMG People at the unemployment office have a job and can not do it right ? Well I am going back down there Wish me luck!

Losing my mind trying to get through the system. I have worked all my adult life, but now that I need help I cannot get it. Of course there is no delay when it comes to them TAKING my money every paycheck. Plus, due to a tax mistake, my accountant overpaid the State more than $900. Haven't gotten that much-needed money back either, and no one will answer phones or reply to mail. I'm a victim of Christie's education slash and am alone and hopeless and just keep getting hung up on by the automated system. There are just no options!

any updates from previous posters? i tried filing online and it says i already have a claim open with a $0 balance and that i have to call the number. but 1) i've never filed for unemployment before and 2) i can't get through by phone because of "high call volume". what the heck are we supposed to do?

I had a horrible time trying to claim benefits today, much like everyone else. I was laid off with my entire team at work and this is the first time I've ever been on unemployment. I needed to speak to a LIVE person, but this is nearly impossible. Hang-ups, busy signals, redirected calls to more hang-ups, etc... After calling and going online throughout the day for 5 hours, I was finally put on hold for about an hour. Finally, a woman answered (I believe I was directed to the Freehold Call Center). She was rude to me right off the bat. I tried to explain my situation to her and she would not listen. She said she had no time for my question and that she could not stay on the line with me. She also told me that the information that was mailed to me from THE STATE OF NJ was "old information". Then why did I receive it?! I might sound naive, but I'm still upset about this whole situation. I asked a normal question and was looking to her for help. Then, when I asked for her name, she grunted and hung up on me! Unbelievable... I know there are worse things in the world, but right now this is a situation that many of us need help with. I wish that I could find out who this woman is, because I'm shocked that she's unemployed!

Whoops, she got me so mad, I've gotten my "unemployed's" mixed up with my "employed's". EDIT: I am shocked she's EMPLOYED! :)

Adding insult to Injury! Republicans continue to pillage NJ! Why is NJ allowed to freeze EB funds and then sit on the Federally funded unemployment money while people are being evicted? Is this legal? Is this how Christie balances the budget at the expense of the unemployed? Since no one EVER answers at the Dept of labor unemployment division – you don’t get through at all or wait on hold for hours only to be disconnected - perhaps NJ should start hiring there. Then again its cheaper to just not answer the phone now isn’t it? All unemployed suffering in NJ – stand up and be heard – start a recall or at the very least – let Christie understand what it feels like to be UNEMPLOYED!

cannot get through to any human person on any of the phone numbers listed on the NJ.Gov site. In addition, can not fill out claim form online because everytime I enter my Soc Sec # i get a message that the system is 'temporarily' unavailable and to try back in an hour. Also I find it hilarious that they assigned me a Wednesday to file my first continued claim, and the phone system will not accept the last digit of my soc for processing on wednesday's...I can only file on a Thursday so now technically I will have "missed my file date" because of this completely assanine system. I don't care if I have to wait all day, put me on a damn queue to talk to a human, don't just hang up on me. This is a nightmare.

I BEEN WAITING ALMOST ONE [1] HOUR WITHOUT ANY LUCK TO TALK TO ANY PERSON @ THE PHONE # THAT WAS GIVEN TO ME: ALL I GET IS CONTINUE TO WAIT: SOMEONE WILL PICK UP LATER: WHY CAN SOMEONE NOT ? PICK UP THE $: I BEEN WAITING ALMOST ONE [1] HOUR.

I MEANT TO TYPE # @ PHONE # & NOT [$]: I MEANT TO TYPE WHY ? CAN SOMEON NOT ? PICK UP PHONE @ THAT #.

I GOT THROUGH AFTER ONE [1] HOUR OF WAITING ON/@ THE PHONE #: PHONE # WORKED, BUT I HAD TO WAIT ONE [1] HOUR FOR SOMONE TO PICK UP PHONE #, FOR MY CHANGE OF ADDRESS FROM MY PO BOX TO MY HOME ADDRESS, FOR TO CLAIM BENEFITS.

I too, have mailed in my job searches, when i called in to claim my benefits it said i would be credited, but i never got my check, i tried to call to speak to someone to let them know i did mail in my job search form, but i dont know why i didnt get my check, i tried to calll for 3 days! and every day, every hour, it said "high call volume", i even called at 7am! DOES ANYONE READ THESE COMPLAINTS! IF THEY ARE WORKING, THEY ARE GETTING PAID TO SIT AROUND CAUSE THEY CANT ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE! MAY BE THE PEOPLE LOOKING FOR WORK CAN TAKE THEIR JOBS! CAUSE THEY ARENT DOIN THEIR JOB! IM SICK OF THIS BS! THIS IS NOT RIGHT, AND I DEMAND AN EXPLANATION, AND HOPE SOMEONE INTERVENES TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE PHONES AND THE PEOPLE BEHIND THEM !THEY ARE NOT TAKIN CALLS! SO WHAT ARE THEY DOIN> GETTIN PAID TO DO NOTHING!1 CAN WE ALL FILE A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST THEM FOR CAUSING FINANCIAL HARDSHIP?

I CALLED FOR THE SAME REASON AS THE LAST POSTER, & WAS TOLD BY MACHINE TO WAIT BECAUSE OF LARGE CALL VOLUME, THAT AFTER I WAS PUT ON HOLD FOR ONE [1] HOUR, THEN THE LADY DECIDE TO NOT SPEAK TO ME & SIMPLY PUT THE PHONE ASIDE FOR HALF AN HOUR [30 MINUTES] WHILE SHE WAS NOT DOING ANYTHING & TALKING & CHIT-CHATTING WITH HER FRIENDS, THAT ME COULD HEAR, WHILE SHE PUT THE PHONE ASIDE WHILE SHE WAS TALKING TO HER LADY FRIENDS, THAT WAS FOR ADDITIONAL 30 MINUTES OR HALF AN HOUR, & THEN AFTER SHE PICK UP THE PHONE AFTER WAITING 90 MINUTES ON THE PHONE, SHE TELLS, THE WORK SEARCH YELLOW FORM IS NO GOOD, EVEN THOUGH I PRINTED A CLEAR & TYPED UP COPY OF IT FOR CLEAR AND SIMPLE READING, WITH DELIVERY CONFIRMATION & 2 COPIES I SEND TO THEM. &, SHE TELLS ME THE WORK SEARCH FORM I SEND IS NO GOOD, BECAUSE SOMEONE DECIDED IT WAS NO GOOD & CAN NOT HELP ME WAS TOLD THAT ME SIMPLY HAD TO SEND IN THE WORK SEARCH FORM TO TRENTON. &, THEN ME WOULD GET PAID FOR THE UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, THAT ME DID NOT GET PAID YET, & ME HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR PAST 2 WEEKS TO GET PAID FOR MY UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, THAT ME HAVE NOT GOTTEN FOR 2 WEEKS. & THEN WHEN ME CALLED BACK TODAY, ME GET MESSAGE THAT THERE IS LARGE CALL VOLUME & CAN NOT TAKE YOUR CALL: I CALLED 2X WITH SAME MESSAGE. &, ME NOW PLANNING TO GO IN PERSON, THAT MAYBE I CAN GET SOME HELP, BUT WHEN I WENT LAST WEEK IN PERSON, THAT ME WAS TOLD THAT TRENTON WAS IN CHARGE, BUT I GOT NO PHONE # TO CALL TRENTON UNEMPLOYMENT OFFICE: THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE ARE INSANE OR STUPID OR EVIL OR COMBINATION OF THESE THREE FACTORS.

I WAS TOLD TODAY THAT ME WAD DENIED EXTENDED BENEFITS THAT ME WILL GET LETTER & THEN ME WILL HAVE TO APPEAL THE DECISION. THE PART THAT ME NOT UNDERSTAND IS WHY ME WAS DENIED EXTENDED BENEFITS OR EB ? ME NOW HAVE TO WAIT FOR LETTER STATING ME WAD DENIED, THEN I'LL HAVE TO APPEAL.

I JUST RESEARCH ON GOOGLE, THAT ACCORDING TO THE LAW, THEY [TRENTON] CAN NOT DENY ME MY EB OR EXTENDED BENEFITS, IF ME MAKE JOB SERACH FOR 3 DAYS FOR THE 2 WEEKS THAT ME WAS CLAIMING, THAT WHEN ME CALLED TO ASK IF THEY RECEIVED MY WORK SEARCH YELLOW FORM, THE LADY SAID SOMEONE TOLD HER OR WRITTEN IN IN HER COMPUTER THAT IT WAS NOT IMPORTANT & THAT ME WAS DENIED, EVEN THOUGH ME MAILED IN 2 COPIES OF MY WORK SEARCH INCLUDING THE YELLOW FORM, WHERE THERE WAS NOT ENOUG ROOM SO ME PRINTED A COPY OF MY WORK SEARCH & MADE 2 COPIES & SEND IN 2 COPIES ALONG WITH MY INFORMATION & XEROX COPY OF MY DOCUMENT[S INCLUDING XEROX COPY OF & ALSO INCLUDING THE ORIGINAL WORK SEARCH YELLOW FORM, WITH DELIVER CONFIRMATION, BUT ME WAD DENIED, WITHOUT JUST REASON, THAT ME WAS NOT GIVEN A GOOD OR JUST REASON, EXCEPT SOMEONE DECIDE TO DENY ME MY EB: SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH PERSON OR SYSTEM THAT CAN DENY PERSON HIS OR HER EB OR EXTENDED BENEFITS BECAUSE THIS PERSON IN CHARGE FELT LIKE IT, WITHOUT ANY JUST OR GOOD REASON. I WILL NEED TO APPEAL THE DECISION, BUT I'M NOT SURE WHAT I OUGHT TO SAY OR WRITE IN MY APPEAL, AFTER ME GET LETTER OF MY DENAIL OF EB OR EXTENDED BENEFITS, WHICH I BADLY NEED, THAT I TRIED LOOKING FOR WORK EACH & EVERY WEEK, BUT NOT ABLE TO FIND A JOB, THAT MY LAST JOB INTERVIEW, THE COMPANY BOSS [DUNKIN DONUTS] CHANGED HER MIND NEXT DAY TO HIRE ME, CALLED HER WHEN ME COULD COME IN FOR WORK, BUT SHE PRETENDED NOT TO KNOW WHO I WAS THAT AFTER ME EXPLAINED TO HER THAT SHE AGREE TO HIRE ME FOR THE JOB, THAT SHE TELL HER ASSISTANT TO TELL ME THAT SHE WAS NOT INTERESTED, WITHOUT GIVING ME REASON, EXCEPT THAT SHE FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO HIRE FOR JOB, RATHER THAN ME, AFTER TELLING ME THAT ME GOT THE JOB, THAT ME WAS TOLD BY HER ASSISTANT TO NOT COME IN, THAT HIS BOSS THE OWNER OF THE ESTABLISHMENT CHANGED HER MIND. MAYBE IT WAS BECAUSE I AM SMALL GUY AND NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO LIFT THE LARGE AND HEAVY COFFEE MACHINE, WHICH WAS HEAVY LIKE A BOWLING BALL, BUT ME WAS NOT TOLD REASON WHY BOSS CHANGED HER MIND TO HIRE ME, STILL LOOKING FOR A JOB, BUT TRENTON DECIDE TO DENY ME MY EB OR EXTENDED BENEFITS, EVEN THOUGH ME MAILED IN MY JOB SERACH FOR 3 DAYS FOR PAST 2 WEEKS THAT ME WAS TO. & NOW ME HAVE TO APPEAL DECISION, THAT ME THINK WHOEVER MADE THE DECISION WAS INCOMPETENT, WHO IS UNFAMILIAR WITH UNEMPLOYMENT LAWS, ALONG WITH THE PEOPLE @ HELP DESK THAT ME TRY TO CALL IF THEY RECEIVED MY WORK SEARCH YELLOW FORM, BUT ME WAS TOLD THAT WORK SEARCH YELLOW FORM WAS NOT IMPORTANT, THAT ME WAS DENIED MY EB, BUT ACCORDING TO EB RULES, THAT IF ME SEND IN MY WORK SEARCH YELLOW FORM FOR MY WORK SEARCH FOR 3 DAYS, ME SUPPOSED TO GET MY EB, BUT ME WAS DENIED MY EB, WITHOUT JUST REASON, MEANING ME WAS WRONGLY DENIED MY EXTENDED BENEFITS.

TYPING ERROR: MEANT TO SAY ME MAILED IN MY JOB SEARCH FOR 3 TO 4 DAYS FOR EACH OF THOSE 2 WEEKS, & NOT ONLY FOR ONE WEEK, NOR FOR ONLY 3 DAYS FOR 2 WEEKS, BUT THAT ME SEARCHED FOR JOB FOR 3 TO 4 DAYS FOR EACH OF THOSE 2 WEEKS, INCLUDING MAILING IN ORIGINAL AND COPY OF THE WORK SEARCH YELLOW FORM, & ME WAS LATER TOLD THAT ME WAS DENIED MY EB, THAT ME THINK ME WAS WRONGLY & UNJUSTLY DENIED, THAT MAYBE MY WORK SEARCH YELLOW FORM CAME IN LATE BY ONE DAY, EVEN THOUGH ME MAILED IT ON FRIDAY NOV 19 OF 2010 BY DELIVERY CONFIRMATION INCLUDING A 2ND COPY THAT ME ALSO MAILED IN IN SEPARATE ENVELOPE TO MAKE SURE 1 OR BOTH THE 2 COPIES ARRIVE AT ITS ADDRESS IN TRENTON, & STILL ME WAS DENIED MY EB: ME HAVE NO CLUE AS TO WHY.

I MEANT TO TYPE THE WORD DENIAL & NOT DENAIL: I PLACE THE LETTER I & A BACKWARDS IN WRONG PLACE. AND, I AM NOW WAITING FOR MY LETTER FOR DENIAL OF EB, THEN ME SUPPOSED TO APPEAL, AFTER ME GET THE LETTER, THAT BECAUSE OF THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY THAT ME NOT GET MAIL TODAY: MAYBE IT WILL COME TO ME NEXT DAY OR SOON, SO THAT I CAN FILE OR MAKE AN APPEAL TO NOT DENY ME MY EXTENDED BENEFITS.

i have never received a membership card

I sympathize with the complaints regarding the unemployment board. It's inexcusable that a state as wealthy and economically vibrant as NJ can't serve its citizens, especially those who have worked to make it so prosperous. I would like to add a couple of comments that I hope will be enlightening.
First, state governments now are under a lot of pressure to pare down their expenses and their staff. The source of this pressure ultimately is the public, who don't want to be taxed to support state services. If you want someone to pick up the phone when you phone your state's agencies, don't make it more difficult for them to do their job by demanding that they cut their staff. I have recently dealt with my state's pension department in order to begin collecting my pension. I found the employees there helpful, straightforward and ernest, and they completed their task well within the legal time limit. However, the state is furloughing many of their workers to save costs. Naturally, this has resulted in delays in receiving pension benefits and probably other services.
Again, public attitudes matter when priorities in funding government services are set. There are a lot of attitudes out there regarding unemployed people and public servants that can only diminish the services delivered to the former by the latter. If the public wants their government to serve them, they have to give their support to that government. It's as simple as that.

I AM STILL WAITING FOR REPLY REGARDING MY EB OR EXTENDED BENEFITS, THAT ME WAS TOLD THAT I ME OUGHT TO APPEAL DECISION OF DENAIL OF MY EXTENDED BENEFITS, THAT ME WROTE LETTER, THAT ME WAS TOLD THAT ME WRITING THE LETTER OF APPEAL IS LATE, & ME REPLIED THAT THE ORIGINAL DENAIL LETTER OF MY EB, THAT LETTER GOT LOST BY POST OFFICE, THAT ME NEVER GOT THE LETTER, IS WHY ME APPEALING LATE, SINCE ME JUST ONLY RECENTLY FOUND OUT OF DENIAL OF EB OR EXTENDED BENEFITS, THAT ME HAVE NOT GOTTEN ANYTHING SINCE FOR PAST 5 WEEKS NOW, THAT I HAVE NOT GOTTEN ANY UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. &, WHEN ME CALLED LAST WEEK, THAT ME WAS TOLD THAT EB IS NOT READING ANY LETTERS OF APPEAL UNTIL NEXT MONTH, WHICH IS IN JANUARY. & I HAVE NOT GOTTEN ANY MORE OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR PAST 5 WEEKS, I ME HAVE NOT GOTTEN ANY $.

whoever is running the NJ department of labor needs to be removed right away, your actions are not up the people of NJ need! Every time i and hundreds of other people try to get through, and to get what needs to be done in order for us to get our benefits, it's like (pulling teeth) to get what we need. the people of NJ deserve better! I got through 12 times out of 100 today and was put on hold and then hung up on! We all have a family to provide, and all this system is doing, is making more and more voters, (pissed off), now i don't know who's running this sick joke, but if something doesn't change, THE PEOPLE WILL CHANGE IT FOR THEM! mark my words, (we're tired)

I have been trying to get thru to them for 2 weeks - all I get is a busy signal or 'do you high volume of calls we can not...' so forth. I haven't gotten a check for over a month and according to my last 'report' I have over 7K in my account. I am on the extended benefits. Haven't heard a thing from them and can't get a hold of them either. What the heck do I do? - Important bills are not getting paid

Unemployment in NJ as well as other states are really clogged up..and there seems to be stall tactics going on, you have to keep on top of them..it is serious times now..

I just got back from Iraq and out of the military and there are NO jobs. I have been calling for weeks straight. It has turned into my full time job. I will sit sometimes literally 8-12 hours calling every few seconds or sometimes every few minutes. Something must be wrong. I even called the 609 direct line and they told me to go F myself and call the other number and wait. I even had money left on my last claim (about 6k) before it was cut off. I cannot do it online either because I am a veteran. I cannot go to the office because I am disabled. Way To Go New Jersey! Way To Go America! Not to mention the few times in that past I did get in touch they were the rudest people I've ever dealt with. Do they not appreciate their jobs? I will gladly take it off of their hands if not. They are a CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER and a Civil Service center. They should be polite to people who are already stressed that their jobs have been gone. It makes me sick to see people who were working for years and years to get laid off because of the economy or because they are veterans or disabled or something and have to go through this. We as a people should stand together against these systems. I say DO NOT use them anymore. Do NOT collect, Do NOT pay bills. Do NOT put money back into the economy. Besides if we all stop claiming, they will have no jobs. :D

I totally agree... I stopped working in July, filed my claim in October online, I was told I need to have an interview, which occurred via telephone on Dec 8th... Then the woman told me to call this other number and "claim" the last 2 weeks. Okay. I called and was unable to complete the process. After about 80 phone calls I finally got through to someone who was rude (kept interrupting me), and told me I needed to have a Claim Examiner review this because I should get paid the back weeks. Claim examiner was to call me yesterday, which they did (2 hours and 5 minutes later than on the form) ... I could hear them typing and I was saying hello hello hello... Then I hear them dialing on the phone and got disconnected. They never called back. Now I am calling... And calling... And calling.. Can you imagine, from October to January! Is there no where to complain?

Brian there is NO WHERE to complain. It is part of the forces. These people get away with whatever they want and there is no where to complain about them. Tell me, anyone on here, what government agency or company has a customer service department with out a complaint department? Motor Vehicles and Dep. of Labor. Because if you are claiming it isn't your right to complain. They want us to shut the hell up and suffer because THEY are NOT suffering. Why the hell should they care about you and your family. Someone said that whoever is in charge of Labor should be fired. All these people working there should be fired! (Except Somerville main office, they were always so nice there) I was once told that they made crappy wages at this place. I say I will take the wages they are making and f**cking smile everyday at my job, helping people get their money that the Government promises them. Hire people with social skills is all we can ask. Not the people who are angry about their pay or mad that you lost your job. How dare you. The VA and the DVA are the same way. These people treat Veterans and Disabled veterans and they are some of the rudest people I have ever dealt with. As if I spit in their coffee when I call or show up. Something really needs to be done about this. I am contacting the news agencies right now to tell them how our people are being treated. Be strong everyone who is reading! Don't give up hope and I hope you get through or find work quick! Like I said don't let your bills worry you, I just am not paying mine, they can only take so much from me.

Ive been having trouble with them also since the 18th of dec. They hung up on me I even went to neptune two days in a row i finally got some one after six hours on their phone and i was hung up on . Then i called back waited another hour and firmly told the woman dont hang up on me . She said she was going to credit my money and my extension was granted, however still no check after three days My advice to you all is call your local congressman they have a liason that calls trenton . If i dont get a check by mail Im going to my congressman, someone needs to know its a state tactic there is no money for them to give out so i figured each day they are allowed to process a percentage of claims they are stalling and that sbull. You have to call the officials . If everyone does this I think it will work ! the congressman will get tired of your calls

SUCCESS, so far... Like all of you, I have been very frustrated with the unemployment filing process, this was my first time. I filed the first week of December 2010. Within a week, I received a form confirming my file and the amount that I will receive each week. There were no instructions to proceed any further, so I awaited my direct deposit, as I indicated on my filing. Another week later, I received a piece of paper with a user id & password to some job site, where I can look for work. I waited... By the first week in January I started calling the number on the website, but it was constantly busy. Then I found alternate numbers by searching for local unemployment offices, but those all led me to that same voicemail stating 'due to high call volume, blah blah'. I just found this blog, but there are no recommendations, only complaints. I searched google for Trenton unemloyment office and found a number listed as 1 John Fitch Plz, Trenton - [protected]. I called and it was busy about 3 tries, then it rang & a woman picked up "Commisioners office", she was very nice. I said that I thought I might have the wrong number, but was trying to reach the unemployment office for a couple of weeks now. She put me on hold while she tried multiple numbers to get me through to someone. She finally got someone and transferred me. I explained that I filed, but no money yet. She asked my ssn, if I have worked since I filed, I said no. She typed at her computer and said she will pay me for December and then gave me the date to go on the internet and claim weekly benefits for the last two weeks. Apparently I was supposed to get an information packet, which I never did, so I didnt know I had to do this. I must log on every week to claim benefits and get paid for that week. I will be asked a couple questions and upon completion, I will get direct deposit. She said I will have the benefits for the first four weeks within 48 hours. Hopefully it works for me and if you are having trouble reaching someone, try this number [protected]. Good Luck

Due to the high volume of calls waiting we can not take your call right now, please call back again later. REALLY? When later, when I get evicted from my house, when they turn off my electric ... been trying for a month now and it's the same dam thing. Then they say go to the internet, REALLY? The internet tells you to call your help center. How can one look for work if they have to call unemployment and they never pick up the dam phone. Then they have to say the unemployment rate has dropped, no it has not your not letting up claim our benefits.

Hey I know this is later than most of these comments but I am living in PA and collecting on NJ wages. It's awful calling NJ. When I was on PA benefits it was no picnic but NJ is AWFUL! I get the same message "all agents are busy call later" and then a hang up. I've talked to so many people there. They sent me out a 1099 for twice what I got from unemployment and are saying they can't fix it. Every time something comes up with NJ it turns into a 3 day ordeal and I can't stand it. I'm sure everyone knows this stuff already, same problems across the board it seems like.

I have had some luck calling [protected] right at 7AM and I usually get someone that picks up within 5 minutes or so. I believe it's the Freehold call floor but my claim was generated out of Union City and they've always been able to help me out so I'm not sure... The people on that call floor are pretty nice and that number dumps you right into the customer service option so you don't have to go through the digital prompts BS to be told that everyone is busy call later.

Hey Mrs Bowman, thanks for the tip. I've been trying for a week now as I tried claiming online as per usual and apparently I've reached the end of my "benefit year" and it has expired - whatever that is... Sick to death of hearing that recorded message or it just hanging up on me... I'm out of the Union City office but have had no luck so far...

Also I just got through to someone at [protected] she was a little short but still a voice. Don't know if anyone else has tried that #. If I find any others that work I will try to post them.

Good luck everybody!

Sent a letter to the Attorney Generals office, they are responsible for the unemployment office issues. [protected] or [protected]. Good Luck!

Happy to find it's not just me. THis is super frustrating! I live in Pa and worked in NJ. Called the 888# and the Freehold # many times yesterday and today. Thank you so much, Atayloremt, for posting the numbers above you did. I got transferred around and finally a woman took my name, SSN, and phone and said she'd have someone call me back. I kinda doubt anyone will, but at least it's a movement and hope.