CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) — So many people have had trouble getting through to the Employment Development Department to set up unemployment or to just get simple questions answered.
Contra Costa County just opened up the Workforce Development Board (WDB) Call Center on Thursday.
The call center, which is not the EDD, will help businesses navigate the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and provide resources to help access various federal and state programs.
“No question is too small or too large,” Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia said.
The new Contra Costa County call center is available Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. — helping small business owners and workers through unemployment during the coronavirus pandemic.
The phone lines are staffed by social service workers and work force development department employees.
“I filed last month and I have yet to receive a payment yet,” Ricky Helton said.
“You now have three numbers to call unemployment but none of them give you a live contact,” Michelle Pimentel said.
These are just some of the dozens of concerns we have heard from Contra Costa County residents and their families who are trying to file for unemployment or just get through to the Employment Development Department to get questions answered.
For the fifth week in a row, millions of American workers applied for unemployment — first-time claims totaled 4.4 million just last week alone.
“We’ve heard from so many individuals wanting to reach the state EDD office to get information and that’s been hard,” Gioia said.
The call center’s number is (833) 320-1919. Again — it’s open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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