KALISPELL — Montana's unemployment filings are slowing down, but the state still has a long way to go.
Paul Martin, administrator with the state's unemployment insurance program, told MTN News that unemployment filings since March have slowed and the state's rates have drastically improved.
He attributes some of the decrease of claim filings to the state opening up and some people returning to work. However, compared to last year at that time, the unemployment claims are still nine times higher.
If you need to file for unemployment, you're asked to do so online as phones and emails are backed up.
"I would dissuade someone from, you know, sending 10 emails a day is just compounding the problem of so many emails out there," said Martin. "And when we have 10 or 50 emails from the same person, often by the time we get to it their questions have already been answered."
He said that their office is working as fast as they can to get through all the claims. Martin also explained that they recently hired 40 more people to work through the claims faster.
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