Tens of thousands of unemployed Oregonians are spending a lot of time on their phones right now. But this isn’t mindless scrolling. these Oregonians are waiting, and waiting, and waiting -- on hold trying to get through to the state Employment Department.
The past few months have been historic in the country, and they are also unprecedented for the state's employment department, which faces a tremendous backlog, massive wait times for callers and an inability to set any timetable to pay money it said it will pay to unemployed workers.
Mike Rogoway, The Oregonian/OregonLive's business reporter, chronicled all those woes during the past few months. The crisis has culminated in Kay Erickson, the department's director, resigning under pressure this weekend.
Related reading:

Department director resigns under pressure

200,000 backlog in paid claims

Other states are doing different things to meet the pandemic pressure

Oregon's computer system is a costly failure

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