These are tough economic times, but there’s one branch of Vermont state government that’s hiring new workers.
The state needs more people at unemployment offices to answer telephone calls for people filing new claims or asking about old ones.
Officials say that unemployment claims in Vermont have nearly doubled over last year
And the state’s unemployment insurance fund is now paying out more than it is taking in.
Labor Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden will probably ask the Legislature this winter to look for ways to beef up the fund that employers pay into to pay unemployment claims.
Meanwhile, she’s looking for five more workers to help answer the state’s 48 telephone lines dedicated to people filing unemployment claims.