NEW SERVICE PLANNED FOR CLAIMS OF JOBLESS

Filing for unemployment will be easier in a number of Southeast Missouri counties this month.

The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is expanding a new service for unemployed workers.

The workers will call the Division of Employment Security's automated claim service to file a claim for unemployment benefits, said Jackie Cecil, manager of the Job Service office here.

The Cape Girardeau office keeps check on unemployment claims in Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry counties. The new service will start Oct. 20.

In the past, unemployed workers had to file initial claims at the local job service office, where they sometimes encountered waits of up to an hour or more.

The local employment security office will continue to handle the required in-person interviews once every four weeks.

The interviews, said Cecil, "are required for reviewing a person's claim and to insure that the individual is meeting all of the law requirement."

The new initial filing system is designed to provide better service with more administrative efficiency, said Laura A. Kliethermes, from Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations in Jefferson City.

Four telephone centers have been established in the state -- St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Jefferson.

"Area calls will go to the St. Louis Center," said Cecil. "Persons calling will receive an automated service that asks a few questions about their employment and unemployment."

After entering the required information, said Cecil, people will be transferred to a claims representative.

The St. Louis center will take calls from the immediate area as well as areas in Dunklin, Iron, Madison, Pemiscot, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Warren, Jefferson, Washington and Lincoln counties and the city of St. Louis.

Numbers are a toll-free, 1-800-320-2519, and the St. Louis number, 1-314-340-4950.

"This should be more convenient for the customers," said Cecil. "They can make the calls from their homes, and there is no long waiting lines."