The online communities offer advice, from what phone number to use for calling the local unemployment office to what time of day is best to call. They give tips on how
People who run the groups acknowledge they are not experts. They advise members to post only about their own experiences — what has worked and what has not — with the hope that winning strategies will emerge through crowdsourcing.
Some delays simply cannot be overcome, because of the lack of staffing in unemployment offices to handle the unprecedented workload. For those whose applications cannot be sped up, the online communities seem to offer a place for venting and mutual support.
“Camaraderie and a sense that I’m not alone and I hope that everybody else on the site feels the same way,” Ms. Glasson said.
One of the most common questions, moderators say, is how to apply for the additional $600 in weekly unemployment payments approved in the federal stimulus bill, which also opened the door to independent contract workers who were not previously eligible for benefits.
“There are hundreds of people on there that are saying ‘Yay, I finally got my unemployment benefits,’ but the most these people are getting is the $247 a week,” said Wendy Manard, who created the “Louisiana Coronavirus Unemployment Legal Advice Group.” “That’s not enough for most people. Everybody’s really anxious about getting the extra $600 a week.”