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Unemployment Claims Crash State Web Sites
1sockchuck writes "A sign of the times: a surge in filings for unemployment benefits has crashed online application systems in four states this week. Web sites in Ohio, New York, Kentucky and North Carolina have been knocked offline by unusually high volumes of jobless claims. Phone applications systems appearing to be faring even worse in many states. The thin silver lining: states are hiring workers for phone banks and buying new servers to prop up their web sites."
Seriously? People are too lazy to go to the unemployment office? Why am I paying taxes again?
and yet I'm able to get first post? This can't be right.
Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
Once the employment returns to normal will they fire all the folks they hired?
It's a vicious cycle
until states start outsourcing their call centers to other countries to save money?
Anyway, the Illinois TeleServ system is constantly busy. I have to use my cell and ground line to dial at the same time to try to get through.
http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/news_wtnh_wethersfield_website_department_labor_problem_200812161624_rev1
Unemployment Clerk (Bea Arthur): "Did you bullshit this week?"
Comicus (Mel Brooks): "No."
Clerk: "Did you try to bullshit this week?"
Comicus: "Yes!"
You never expect irony, do you?
Want to be a professional wrestler? Visit www.iyfwrestling.com
@iyfwrestling
This is what happens with government websites. They contract out people that write them in .NET with a J2EE server thrown in for one simple thing and they do about 20 cartesian joins every page load. Your tax dollars at work.
I accompanied my brother to the unemployment office multiple times before he just went online. Eventually it went though, but they're like waaayyyyyy backed up and the paperwork took at least two weeks longer than usual. Sign of the times.
Well, when it's back up, someone make sure it gets on the front page of Slashdot.
Did you fire yourself? No. You just work for a company that can't afford to pay you.
Guess it sucks to be in LA. I have never incorporated, but here in CA, if you are self employed as a sole proprietor, they don't make you pay UI... and of course, you can't make a claim against it either.
Don't worry, however, CA screws individuals with all kinds of taxes, almost the highest in the nation in every category. And it is never enough.
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
Kentucky has the Internet?
You're all invited to try Ohio Unemployment Beta -- just go here and create your free account!
https://unemployment.ohio.gov/
In the state of Texas the phone system has been overloaded. I had to call about an issue that took five minutes to fix once I got connected.
However, it took 239 calls to the 1-800 number to finally connect. Every other call resulted in a busy signal or a "All circuits are busy" result.
Good times!
It should surprise no one that the UI systems in Michigan, the official Unemployment Capital of North America, are also buckling under the traffic. My longtime buddy MARVIN (aka Michigan Automated Voice Interactive Network) has been offline the past couple days. Fortunately I have a couple part-time jobs, so I'm not collecting benefits, but I know people who are... trying to.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
You say "My parents raised 4 kids on about half of what I make now".
Could you be a bit more specific? Lets look a little closer.
A. What did your parents make in '82?
B. Go to the Minneapolis Federal Reserve home page.
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1084177&op=Reply&threshold=1&commentsort=0&mode=thread&pid=26367983
C. In the "What is a dollar worth" program
C1. Type 1982 into the year
C2. Type your parent's 1982 income amount into the "goods or services" field.
C3. Type 2008 into the "Then in" field. 2008 is the latest year they have data on file.
C4. Press the "calculate" button.
Finally let us know the result!
This Fed calculation is quite useful for all time oriented dollar amounts. You will notice that news sources constantly compare today's dollar to yesterday's dollar as if they were the same. They are not.
Thanks,
Jim
The population of the state of Kentucky is approximately 4 million people. Assuming a ridiculously high unemployment rate of 50% that would be 2 million people. Now, assuming that they all tried to file UI applications online at exactly the same time that would generate 2 million submissions. According to Wikipedia, the Intel Core2 CPU (which is less powerful than current server CPUs) can handle well over 20,000 MIPS (that's millions of instructions per second).
So, am I to understand that the software running on the government's UI application submission servers are so inefficient that they consume over 10 Billion processor instructions (20,000 MIPS divided by 2 million submissions) in order to accept and file the data for one single UI application? If so, then the programmers need to be quartered and hung!
- James
I am in Colorado and been trying to get unemployment to start back in nov (found a 1.5 week gig that paid decently in dec), and have been trying for the last week to talk to anybody at unemployment. Why am I trying to phone them? Because they no longer have offices. I literally spent 6 hours today hitting the redial. On tuesday, I accepted the .95 charge that qwwest charges for returning a call from a busy line and NEVER got a call back.
You may be paying some taxes, but I paid more than my fair share. I would right now LOVE to stand in line, but states made cuts to lower their costs. and in order to see someone, I have to talk on the phone FIRST.
In a cost-saving move, states are dusting off their old Windows98 desktops for the new workers to use.
In related news:
Old botnets unexpectedly spring to life,swamping already overloaded state-run networks.
When did the word "fail" acquire its new usages as a noun and an adjective? I'm going to use the word "failure" and sound like an old person because you damn kids keep saying "fail".
Don't you think it would be easier if the IRS/State data plus a new required e-form from the employer were in place so that the state unemployment people could start the claim immediately if the company does not contest, and send the claimant their paperwork if there's going to be a showdown.
Sure, unemployment is meant to be confusing and hard to get to. They set time limits on when you can log on not because their servers can't take it, but because they want you awake for a few minutes during those hours and proving you're in the state you belong in. Anything to get you disqualified...
But, the average human can beat that system and cash with about half the pay they had before, all for the only work being looking for a job like the one you left... not something you weren't going to do. And you've got the time for the paperwork. So take the money.
1. Economy Tanks
2. Banks Fail
3. People lose jobs
4. People get unemployment checks
5. People take checks to banks.
7. Economy Tanks
8. Banks Fail...
Most states now do the entire process online or by phone only. There is no office to go to any more.
I couldn't afford the $40/month for internet.
Good thing Internet service is available in most areas for 5-10 dollars a month, if not free w/ ads.
Quoted so you all can see it. I've been there, done that, am currently wearing the T-shirt.
$10.00 a month really is cheap for what you get out of it. Some may want to keep that in mind next time life kicks them in the pants and some SOB comes along with their "helpful" advice.
Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
Wasn't the whole point of outsourcing data-ops to "the cloud" was so that the same hardware and network could be serving football video streams one day, and taking in business (or going-out-of-business) paperwork the next?
Why hasn't this been implemented yet?
"Some people need to be taught the difference between Want and Need."
While others need to learn the meaning of irrational envy.
"And my company has never had an engineering layoff in the entire 85+ year history of the company."
The confidence of youth is mainly due to a lack of experience. Now before you start lecturing me about the GoodOldDays(TM) I should inform you that my eldest son was born two years before you were. Like yourself he has never had to find work in a recession, let alone the depression you are wishing for.
"I think I'm doing pretty good."
So STFU and enjoy it instead of bitching about people you know nothing about.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
The upcoming administration is making noises they will be giving employers some sort of tax break or stimulus to "create jobs" and hire more people (up to 3 thousand bucks a job!). So..maybe it isn't far fetched to think a lot of the folks being laid off now will be rehired once this new tax break dodge starts back up again. Just a thought..
Why doesn't the gov't just print more money to grease the system? The inflation risk is low, and even if it did go up, inflation is the least of two evils. If our gov't doesn't print money, North Korea will. Kim Jong Ill will save us!
Table-ized A.I.
Next, suppliers will run out of pink paper.
Table-ized A.I.
I think that's good news!
Now there's gonna be a couple more people with jobs and the economy is moving because they needed to hire people and buy equipment to supply to the demand!
So having too many jobless people makes the government hire those jobless people to manage the jobless people, it's an interesting circle of joblessness ^_^
I don't have to wait for a site to become too busy to have connection frustrations. I've got Comcast. Every morning when I try to hook up to the net with my cable modem I have time to boil water and make coffee before I can hook into Comcast. It seems that with HD TV and phone service over cable they simply have everyone in my area waiting, waiting, waiting for their machines to hook up upon request. Class Action Law SUITs are beginning to appeal to me.
The amount of tax I have paid, I could be due for 25 years of benefits.
The only people that are a drain on the system are the 200k surgeries by people over 80yo just so they might live another 5 years.
I know its harsh but its more of a ROI to pay more for younger people. You could average it out by giving all age groups the same 'average' care if you must be nice tho.
Then invent technology to reduce costs and make those billion $$ corporates loose more profits.
Whats more important, the margin profits for a few 10000 investors, or the benefit of millions?
Lets at least go half way, benefit half the people 50% of their dreams.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
1. You get paid no matter how you leave, or get sacked, or anything.
2. If you have more than $5000 in assets, you might at most wait 4-6 weeks before you get paid, so all you have to do is withdraw all cash out of your investments before you apply for benefits, then you can get them early.
3. You have to appear to want to work and try to find work, but you if are a really hard done by, you have no time limit, and could get benefits for 25 years.
Bottom line is we dont want people on the streets like zombies, we care for people, and 4% of GDP is a small price, if the other 50% employed people pay 33% tax.
Do you prefer 10000s of criminals out there, or 10000s of people getting free money, and not robbing you that will eventually get a job and pay back that benefit with taxes.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
I think the same trolls are somehow getting mod points left, right, and center.
Which reminds me ...
I remember reading an article, about a notorious troll on Slashdot, who kept creating new accounts for trolling. I think he had 10+ accounts.
I can't find back the original article now, although there's several other articles on trolling on Slashdot, and even a HOWTO guide.
Anyone has any idea? I seem to have the impression that it was written in someone's Slashdot journal.
So its 1981, and owning a CRT 15" is a crime? Get real.
On a comparitive dollar rate, a 38" LCD is just as cheap, you can get em dirt cheap, hey, if you sell enough drugs and you can afford an LCD, the good for you, you keep that big dept store in business as well as the store clerk, and the old person with stocks in that corporation.
So whos a crim , that guy who pays $39 for paytv, or the corporation super market, that charges 300% profit margins on potatoes and rice?
Not even drug dealers charge that much margins.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
States are hiring workers for phone banks and buying new servers to prop up their web sites.
So the few that manage to get their application in, deny it and give them a job answering phones for more applications!
Eventually you should have enough people to handle the incoming applications or everyone will be employed. Either way, problem solved!
Thats the one item of of 1000 that makes LA shit.
Im suprised all the million/billion dollar rich people dont just leave in the one month, then see the tax income for LA drop by 50 billion.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
I suspect the reason the websites are crashing is due to the fact that the sooner one applies in the week for unemployment, the sooner the next check arrives. This means that everyone logs on at the beginning of the week to file their claims for the past week. If there were a way to stagger the unemployment benefits so that people were given a different day of the week to apply, they might have better success with keeping their meager servers running. Then again, if your server keeps crashing, that has a way of throttling your net traffic too. :)
This current recession has been tough on techies. I'm grateful to have a new job, after ninemonths of jobloss due to bone-headed experiences with failing start-ups. My computer was useful in helping me search for jobs so that I qualified for unemployment benefits each week, and I used my email account as a common point of access and tracking all the job submissions and such, but ultimately my next job came from contacting a person (family member) who knew me well enough to get my resume' into the right hands.
--Ray
http://www.beanleafpress.com
for the last 2 weeks the unemployment website in Connecticut was totally unusable on sundays.
http://Lenny.com
Just keep retrying. It's not like you've got anything better to do today.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Well I live in a state that fucking broke and the shut down the local library. So much for idea....
I worked in a grocery store during college. A lot of the food-stamp people ticked me off.
- I saw people buy steak for their dog when they were told they couldn't buy dog kibble with food-stamps.
- People refused to use their member discount card, saying "it doesn't matter, I'm not paying for it!"
- The food stamp card also had a cash portion. They'll pull off several hundred dollars in cash, then buy cigarettes and alcohol.
- They would get extravagant food. Either expennsive things like lobster & crab, or just load up their cart with junk like soda, chips, etc.
Not all of them were like that, but a good number were, probably around 50%. You could tell the people that actually needed the assistance because they bought things on sale, chose generic brands, used their member discount card, used coupons, etc.
So you're saying in order to be worthy of owning a nice TV, you must first live in a nice neighborhood with a nice house and a nice car?
One of the best ways to gather wealth is to cut one of your biggest expenses; your housing. Who is to say that's not what the people in these 'poorer' neighborhoods are doing?
But even if they're not, lets look at all those white-bread suburbs, with people who've leveraged their debt out their eyeballs because they have the expectation in living in a McMansion with Plasma TVs and huge SUVs. But you make no generalized critical statement of them? It's only poor people who deserve to be lambasted for over-consumption?
Face it, you live in America. You're as much a part of that problem as anyone else. You can pretend you're not, that someone else is somehow less deserving of 'stuff', and thus shouldn't have it. But, in the end, you aren't any more deserving of it. Chances are, if you work harder, it's no more than 10% harder. Chances are, you're not doing a significant amount more for the world than they are. The people who are doing more, and are more deserving aren't on /. complaining about the proles.
[Ego]out
Most of the states had outsourced their handling of UI claims to Indian companies about 4 years ago. I am surprised that no one has pointed this out yet.
he won't do it, it's a factor of 2.23 for the time difference. so it'd be like raising 4 kids on a quarter of what the gp makes.
wait..no i got that backwards. it'd be like raising 4 kids on his salary.... yeah, the dollar was worth twice what it is now (more actually) and they mad half as much, so they earned the same value in the year of 1982 that he earns annually. just a bit more actually.
here in California Arnie Governator instituted a hiring freeze and layoff for all state departments due to the budget shortfall, so there is no silver lining here (my wife works for the state and is a union steward so I hear it all) - no one is getting hired- and the phone systems are useless- I got laid off and had a problem with my claim's paperwork- after 4 days of trying to get through for about 4 hours each day I finally gave up and sent a letter- who knows where that is going.....
Pretty sad, isn't it?
I'm currently unemployed and we are living with my FIL. He constantly complains (about almost everything under the sun), but specifically he complains about me not going out and taking "any old job", because apparently even McDonalds pays better now than the jobs he had when he was "raising" my wife (he was a bit of a deadbeat).
Not only will fast food places not hire me, but, after inflation, he was making more as a cabbie 20-25 years ago than I can make in IT in the area after frustration. Pretty damn frustrating.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
I'd say you are being a sober hard nosed realist. They are going to be pushing labor arbitrage all the way to the US becoming basically a two class society. That's what all the trends look like to me anyway.
CAIMLAS please accept my deepest sympathy.
Where do you live anyhow?
I could probably get a fast food job. Worker to manager. However in college in an off year, I worked lots of 80 hour weeks. Food is not easy. There is nothing as disheartening like looking at the moon at 11pm on a cold night and realizing that you had to be back before it sets.
For your FIL. Its like what I would do if I married a nice but rich lady (wishful thinking). Fix meals, clean house, mow yard, wash car, and home repair. Make myself so darn useful that your FIL would pay as much as McDonalds to have you around.
Stay out of FIL's way. "Out of sight, out of mind" still holds true.
Don't spend much if any of his money.
Beware of any old job. On the plus side, they can lead to other work. On the minus side they prevent you going around and finding a decent job.
Also in your "beach time" keep that brain busy; Scrabble, Greek, Latin. If you are in IT then R perhaps. I am learning R right now. Plan to finish a program next week to graphically depict some voter information.
Best wishes, let me know what job you wind up with
Jim
As days, months and years pass by, unemployment rate is blooming, and this is an alarming problem to all of us. Many companies are becoming unprofitable and investors are now worrying about their investments. These are some of the effects of this current economic recession. A paradox is where there exists two conflicting truths, like if a good situation ends with bad results. A similar situation is deflation within an economy â" which is an economic situation in which the prices of goods drops and the value of currency rises. Now this sounds good, but there is a serious downside to it â" in that those low prices are going to cause more unemployment, because employers can't afford to keep all the employees on the payroll. However, there is good news â" payday loans are still available if you need them, and the odds that deflation will occur with the current recession are slim. But the Feds say things will get worse before they get better, so in the meantime, payday loans can help if you have a financial emergency.