State's Unemployment Insurance Program Well Received

Sep. 28, 2000
No. 01-15

Survey Shows High Rates of Satisfaction with UI Program

Customer satisfaction surveys show 95% of respondents give the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL) high marks for how it processes Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims.

Using statistically valid sampling techniques, claimants in the most recent survey gave the highest marks in the "overall service" category, with a 98% rating of adequate or better. Next highest was the "ease of filing new claim" category, with 97% responding that services in this area were adequate, good, or very good. Claimants commented that it was "very easy to file" and they were "impressed with customer service."

The latest survey, conducted over June, July, and August of this year, is one of six completed by DOL since 1997 when an automated call-in system was added to in-person and file-by-mail filing procedures for UI benefits. The UI program conducts customer surveys twice a year and uses the results to guide program and service improvements. The surveys distinguish between urban and rural areas to show any disparity in customer satisfaction with services provided to different areas of the state. Suggestions on how services may be improved are also collected and used to analyze ways in which the program can change for the better.

The UI program, funded by employer and employee taxes, paid out about $130 million to over 57,000 people in calendar year 1999.

Services are now provided through three UI Call Centers, located in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau. Claimants can use an automated phone service seven days a week to file a claim, sign up for direct deposit, and check the status of their ongoing eligibility. Over 90% of Alaska's UI customers now use the automated system for filing their continuing claims.

For more information about this and other UI surveys, contact Chuck Blankenship in Juneau at (907) 465-5930.

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