ESD reports modest call-center improvements but says 130‑FTE gap remains

Brian Levy, deputy director for insurance services at the Employment Security Department, told the agency’s oversight committee that the UI claims center has made measurable performance gains this year but still falls short of its service goals.

"The goal is 80% within 20 minutes," Levy said, "we are not hitting that mark, but we did see a year‑over‑year increase of 5%." He also said average wait‑to‑answer improved by about six minutes and timely first payment performance rose roughly 5% year over year.

The presentation highlighted specific metrics: the claims center averaged about 62,000 high‑call‑volume messages monthly in 2025; average days to approve rose from 5.0 to 5.87; and improper payments fell about 0.6% through the third quarter. Levy described the agency’s "North Star metrics" as calls answered within target windows, average wait times, timely first payments, and maintaining improper payment rates below the 10% goal.

Committee members and agency leaders attributed continued pressures to rising claim volumes. The chair noted that ongoing claims increased about 20% and initial claims rose roughly 8–9%, meaning people are remaining on UI longer and placing sustained demand on the system. The chair added that despite those pressures, the agency has achieved improvements without increasing headcount.

The department said staffing is constrained by funding available through the U.S. Department of Labor and that closing the performance gap would require an estimated 130 additional full‑time staff. "We have as many staff as we're able to afford with the funding that we receive," the chair said, noting agency efforts to improve processes and technology.

Levy and the chair also raised fraud prevention as a continuing constraint: identity and imposter fraud remain high, requiring steps that can slow some legitimate claimants while preventing improper payments.

The committee did not take a formal vote on staffing or funding at the meeting. Agency leaders said they will provide a more detailed breakdown of workload drivers and potential operational or legislative remedies after the close of the legislative session.