NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development moves to a staggered schedule for unemployment claimants completing their weekly certifications effective Sunday, the agency announced on Friday.

The change will spread out the number of people certifying over three days, creating a more responsive experience for claimants using Jobs4TN.gov web site.

More than 324,000 Tennesseans have applied for unemployment benefits over the last four weeks, creating an unprecedented demand on the unemployment computer system. While claimants can certify any day of the week, most choose Sunday, putting a workload 21 times the normal rate of usage onto the system.

Beginning Sunday, April 19, claimants will have access to complete their weekly certifications according to the last digit of their social security number.

The schedule is:

Sunday - social security numbers ending in 0, 1, 2 and 3.

Monday - social security numbers ending in 4, 5 and 6.

Tuesday - social security numbers ending in 7, 8 and 9.

Wednesday through Saturday - all numbers.

When a claimant tries to certify and clicks the tab, if they are accessing the system on the correct day, it will allow them to proceed. If it is not the claimant's scheduled day, the system will not let them certify. If a claimant misses their scheduled day, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are open certification days for any social security number.

Once a claimant completes the weekly certification process, their financial institution typically posts the benefit payment to their account or debit card within 48 to 72 hours. For claimants who normally certify on Sunday, switching to a Monday or Tuesday certification will change the day of their weekly deposit.

Claimants must certify each week to ensure eligibility for benefit payments and to avoid the potential for overpayment. If someone does not certify for a particular week, they have five weeks to go back and do so, but the state is unable to process the payment for that week until they complete the missed certification.