During a virtual press conference held on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, U.S. Department of Labor (the Department) Acting Secretary Julie Su and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy spoke to press and stakeholders from across the unemployment insurance (UI) ecosystem to highlight the successful launch and pilot of New Jersey’s new unemployment insurance application system.
New Jersey is at the forefront of a national effort to modernize the UI system to improve the claimant experience and streamline the delivery of unemployment benefits to eligible unemployed individuals, while combatting fraud and reducing the risk for error. The state was selected by the Department to participate in the Claimant Experience Pilot, one of the first grants made as part of the more than $780 million awarded to 52 of 53 states via the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Remarking on the importance of the federal-state partnership at the foundation of ARPA UI modernization efforts in states, the New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said, “We couldn’t have done this on our own. And the feds probably couldn’t have done it on their own. The fact of the matter is, the partnership was the magic here.”
Joined by New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo and New Jersey Chief Innovation Officer Dave Cole, speakers emphasized the benefits of a continuous approach to information technology (IT) modernization over an “all or nothing” strategy, consistent with the Department’s vision. “We recognize that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution here… It’s to really take a modular and agile approach to IT modernization and to focus first on those public facing parts that have the most impact,” Acting Secretary Su said.
Added Cole, “Far too often, other states, large and small, have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to do one monolithic overhaul of their UI technology and applications, only for the resulting experience to remain just as confusing, just as frustrating, and just as demoralizing for claimants and state UI staff.”
During his remarks about the new system, Cole also highlighted that approximately 75% of claimants are using self-service options online or over the phone instead of needing to speak with a call center employee. Claimants can also retrieve more information about their application through the system’s new claims status dashboard.
New Jersey’s successful modernization project will continue to serve as a model for states across the country as they continue to deploy ARPA funds and work with the Department to upgrade their systems and processes. For details on the New Jersey pilot, view the full press conference.