Starting Monday, the state unemployment office will extend its call-in hours for filing claims by nearly three hours, the Maine Department of Labor announced Tuesday.

Calls are currently being accepted between 8 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Monday through Friday, but starting Monday those hours will be extended to between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., it said.

Those who are unable to connect with a claims representative by calling 800-593-7660 before 3 p.m. Monday through Friday should submit a message at maine.gov/labor/contact, the department said.

The office has been inundated with calls from laid-off workers since the coronavirus pandemic hit Maine a month ago. Since March 15, there have been more than 76,000 initial unemployment claims filed in the state, more than double the total initial claims for all of 2019.

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The state plans to increase the amount of all weekly benefits payments by $600 starting next week as part of the federal CARES Act, but it has yet to say when it will implement another provision that adds previously ineligible contractors and self-employed workers to the list of eligible claimants.

The Labor Department recommends people file their claims online with a computer, not a smartphone, and do so in the evening when internet traffic is less congested. It has implemented an alphabetical call-in schedule to help reduce phone line congestion as it ramps up capacity to receive and process claims.

Last names beginning with A through H should call on Mondays, I through Q on Tuesdays, and R through Z on Wednesdays, it said. Thursdays and Fridays are left unassigned for those who miss their alphabetical day or need to call at that time.

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