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Madison — Highlighting a recurring problem for out-of-work Wisconsin residents, an audit found that jobless workers have had more than 3 million calls for help dropped by the state since 2011, including the majority of their attempts to reach call centers last year.

From 2011 to 2014, jobless workers had 3.6 million calls blocked by the state and in an additional 1 million cases the unemployed hung up after being put on hold, the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau reported Tuesday. These numbers for the call centers don't count the state's automated phone lines for unemployment benefits, because the state doesn't track the number of dropped calls to the automated system.

The audit confirmed reports by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that showed that the state has often been unable to handle the rush of calls from workers who were laid off because of the cold winter months and the recent deep recession.

Most workers can file for benefits online and do get their benefits quickly. But the phone problems date back at least to 2009 and got worse last winter even though overall jobless claims were falling.

Auditors found that almost 1.7 million phone calls to state centers by jobless workers were blocked last fiscal year because there was no one to answer the calls and not enough phone lines available to put the workers on hold. That left those callers no choice but to try to phone again later for help.

During most of the fiscal year that ended in June, less than 10% of jobless workers' calls were blocked by the state. But the problem spiked in December 2013 and January 2014. During those winter months marked by high seasonal unemployment and a large number of calls to the state, more than 80% of the unemployed workers calling for help were blocked.

Three weeks of calls

Those workers included Ron Youngbluth of Pewaukee, who told the Journal Sentinel he called up to two dozen times in December 2013 after he was laid off from his part-time job as an optometrist in Brookfield.

"I called them the past at least three weeks, I don't know how many times. I couldn't get ahold of anyone," he said at the time. "They said, 'We're experiencing peak volumes. We'll attempt to transfer you to an agent.' They said, 'All our agents are busy with others. Call back some other time.'"

In 2009, the Journal Sentinel found that about 62,000 calls made to the unemployment inquiry line were dropped during each week of August — more than 86% of all calls that came in.

The newspaper has found other problems in recent years with the processing of unemployment claims by the state. In October 2012, for instance, the Journal Sentinel reported that more than 9,000 Wisconsin residents had not received any unemployment benefits for several weeks because of a backlog at the Department of Workforce Development.

The number of initial unemployment claims has dropped by 45% since 2011 to 520,100 for the 12 months ended in June. Of the claims for that latest fiscal year, 89% were processed within the first two weeks.

This winter, the state hopes to lessen the call center problems by hiring limited-term workers and having other labor department staff ready to switch to working the phones. The state also implemented a new online processing system for jobless claims.

"This change will also greatly reduce the need for claimants to call DWD to complete their claim, increasing customer satisfaction and reducing costs to taxpayers," state Workforce Development Secretary Reggie Newson said in a response letter to the audit.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Gov. Scott Walker said that he believed the problems are now resolved. DWD spokesman John Dipko said there had been no dropped calls since May.

Michael J. Lowrey, president of Wisconsin State Employees Union Local 91, said the state also needs to hire dozens more people. Some callers have unique problems, while others are unable or unwilling to access the computer system, he said.

"There are some problems that it takes a human being to solve," he said. "It's like a total disrespect for the working people of Wisconsin."

Auditors also found that from 2011 to 2014 taxpayers paid $86 million too much to fraudsters who lied about their circumstances. The state has been recouping less in overpayments recently and can take years to recover the money it does get back.

In 2013, the labor department improperly paid $24.8 million to lying claimants. That same year, the department recovered about $24 million in overpayments, but most of those were from previous years. The agency recovered only $2.3 million of the money lost in 2013 during that same year.

Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this article.