The Oregon Employment Department (OED) is now in its fourth week of using Frances Online for Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefits.
With preliminary data for the week of March 17-23 now available, the transition to the new system continues to track with overall expectations, as most claimants are using Frances Online to file their claims.
The preliminary data for last week shows that OED:
- Paid out over $14.9 million in UI benefits.
- Received 30,656 total weekly claims.
- Of these, 29,713 were for the prior benefit week ending March 16,
- This is the metric we report in our weekly media dashboard.
- This is down slightly from the previous week (30,006) but has stabilized since the launch of Frances Online and is in line with seasonal trends.
- Of these, 29,713 were for the prior benefit week ending March 16,
At 89 percent, the ratio of claimants who filed online using Frances rose for the second week in a row, climbing two points from 87 percent.
“We are pleased to see that more and more people are using Frances Online and getting used to the new system,” Unemployment Insurance Director Lindsi Leahy said. “At the same time, call volume and wait times for our Contact Center remain high and we acknowledge the frustration that causes our customers. We are working as quickly as we can to answer questions and provide the support they need. We also want to remind customers of all the ways to contact us, including sending a message from their Frances Online account, or using our online Contact Us form, chatbot, and live chat in multiple languages. We will continue to monitor the system, listen to customer feedback, and make improvements to give Oregonians a better level of customer service.”
Agency Director David Gerstenfeld explained what obstacles the agency is facing as it strives to improve customer service.
“Our biggest challenge is that we still have significant workloads and we lack the federal funding to hire enough people to provide the customer service Oregonians deserve. We are very grateful to the Oregon State Legislature for its support during the 2024 session.”
Earlier this month, the Legislature passed House Bill 4035, which is currently awaiting the Governor’s signature. It will provide additional administrative funding for 72 positions, but customers won’t feel the impacts until the second half of the year.
The power of information
The Oregon Employment Department’s Workforce and Economic Research Division has long been known as a national leader in its field, and it’s now gaining international recognition. The division develops workforce and economic information and tools, which it shares with local governments, businesses, the media, educational institutions, and the public via QualityInfo.org.
After Research Director Bob Uhlenkott shared OED’s approach to supporting job listings with detailed labor market information with the World Bank earlier this year, his team was invited to give a formal presentation for government staff and policymakers in Uruguay and Argentina on March 20.
With support from projections economist Sarah Cunningham and regional economist Nicole Ramos, workforce analyst Henry Fields delivered the presentation in Spanish via teleconference. The focus was to highlight best practices and innovative methods of providing labor market information to support career exploration and job searches using real-time job listings for the Argentinian and Uruguayan governments. Henry also shared insights on how Oregon’s advancements in this field are shaping policymaking and service delivery in a rapidly changing world.
“This was an amazing opportunity for our team,” Uhlenkott said. “We’re happy to share the lessons we’ve learned in Oregon with leaders from around the world, but I’m especially proud to see our team’s world-class work receive some of the recognition that it deserves.”
