Reduced the time it takes to apply for Unemployment Insurance from nearly 4 hours to less than 25 minutes

To help workers who lost their jobs get Unemployment Insurance sooner and with less headaches, the Office of Innovation has been working with the NJ State Department of Labor to completely overhaul its legacy system so it is simpler, faster, and less confusing to access benefits. These efforts are also streamlining back-end processes and saving the agency millions of dollars.

Challenge

As the pandemic upended lives and the economy, millions of New Jerseyans were suddenly left unemployed. The unprecedented flood of applications to the State’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) system significantly strained a legacy system that had been underinvested in for decades. Complicated application language, complex state requirements, and ever-changing federal guidelines compounded the challenge of a massive increase in application volume. Call centers were inundated and callers faced long wait times. Residents were frustrated by delays and confused by the process, while State employees struggled to do their work within an inefficient system.

Innovation In Action

Using a resident-first design approach, OOI worked with the NJ State Department of Labor and other partners to launch a new Unemployment Insurance application. As part of this process, project partners interviewed applicants to understand which application questions were misunderstood and leading to delays in receiving benefits. Following residents’ lead, OOI tested a series of changes with users including simplified, plain-language questions, bigger text and answer buttons, and the addition of clarifying explainer text. In addition, OOI has been collaborating with front line staff and residents to identify the primary causes of delays or bottlenecks throughout the application process and systematically working to address them. These efforts include launching a new claims status tool, creating a less confusing ID verification process, simplifying the weekly certification process, and transitioning the legacy call center to a new cloud-based, AI-powered system.

Impact

• In April of 2024, a completely redesigned UI application was launched with 20% fewer questions. On average, the previous application took 3 hours and 50 minutes to submit. With the new application, half of applicants submitted theirs in less than 25 minutes. As of September 2024, 90% of applicants now finish and submit on the same day and there has been a 14% reduction in applications that require manual review before entering the system.
• The application is fully available in native Spanish rather than automated translations, and has been optimized for assistive devices for individuals with disabilities.
• The new call center has enabled the Department of Labor to serve over 60,000 additional residents per year, while slashing hold times and generating millions of dollars in projected cost savings by building vital systems in-house and increasing operational efficiency. As of July 2024, the improved claim status tool has been used more than 2 million times with more than 75% of users resolving issues on their own to advance their unemployment benefits application.
• As of September 2024, improvements to the identity verification process have led to a 70% decrease in support calls about identity verification and a nearly 20% increase in residents who start verification immediately after submitting their application.
• The new identity verification flow, released in late fall 2023, has saved the Department of Labor over $585,000 in operating costs as of September 2024, and annual savings are projected to be $780,000 for 2024.

Partners

• NJ State Department of Labor
• NJ State Office of Information Technology
• U.S. Department of Labor
• United States Digital Service
• United States Digital Response

What New Jerseyans See

Read More

See the latest at the Unemployment Insurance Claim Status Tool project page.