Hollister office to be open on Saturdays to let people file
The state is opening 25 employment offices
– including the one in at 1111 San Felipe Road in Hollister – on
Saturdays to help thousands of Californians file for unemployment
benefits.
Hollister office to be open on Saturdays to let people file
The state is opening 25 employment offices – including the one in at 1111 San Felipe Road in Hollister – on Saturdays to help thousands of Californians file for unemployment benefits.
Employment Development Department director Patrick Henning said last week that “extraordinarily difficult times” prompted the agency to add operating hours.
While California’s unemployment rate hit 10.5 percent in February, San Benito County’s rate was 15.8 percent, nearly 4 percent higher than December.
The lowest unemployment rate statewide was in Marin County, with 6.8 percent, while the highest was Colusa County with 26.6 percent.
Henning says call volumes and claims for benefits are at record levels; the department processed 525,000 initial claims in January alone.
Staff at the centers will help claimants use phones or computers to file for unemployment benefits. Call centers will also be open.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week signed a bill that will extend unemployment benefits in California by 20 weeks, to a total of 79 weeks. That will make California eligible for $3 billion in federal funding.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
