Help wanted not available

In North Carolina weeks, the agencies that handle claims from the growing ranks of unemployed people in Virginia and North Carolina have reported major glitches in their automated systems for processing remuneration.

Each week, North Carolina individuals seeking unemployment checks have to wallet for benefits with their position's unemployment offices. They can do so by phone or online.

Ordinarily, these encounters are routine. But on the Monday following Christmas, the Virginia Employ Commission was overwhelmed by a deluge of calls from the on the dole - a eye-catching (and depressing) run of the mill of 50 a minute.

On the first Sunday and Monday of the new year, a similar wave of chaos hit North Carolina's Employment Security Assignment. Its Web site crashed below the weight of tens of thousands of attempts to file claims.

Officials as of both states say they've occupied ladder to deal with the exertion. In Virginia's case, the capacity for its automated phone system was stretched, and in North Carolina, a new Internet server was added.

Unemployed people are facing enough challenges - to be exact, finding a job and paying their bills. They without doubt don't need the additional aggravation and anxiety of having to call or log onto their computers repeatedly to ensure that they receive their unemployment checks in a timely manner.

If officials in the two states includung North Carolina can't handle the volume of calls, there is one obvious source they can turn to for help - the very people trying to get in touch with them. The ranks of the unemployed undoubtedly consist of quite a few tech-savvy folks ready, willing and able to fix the problem, not to mention people who'd love to land jobs processing the claims in person or on the phone.