Floridians seeking unemployment assistance will see changes to the website they use to make their claims, starting Tuesday.
The Department of Economic Opportunity, which oversees the state’s reemployment efforts, has been replacing its three-decade-old computer system over the past week with a new one called "CONNECT."
Out-of-work jobseekers haven't been able to use the online processing site since last Wednesday.
DEO Director Jesse Panuccio says the new system will be more user-friendly, available 24/7, and easier for the department to maintain.
"It should be easier to use, easier to navigate through; it should be more accurate and take advantage of all of the things that modern computer systems bring us. It will also have better anti-fraud measures," he said. "It will allow us to detect fraud on the front end and prevent it more easily."
There are no changes in the qualifications required to receive unemployment assistance.
DEO doles out up to two-hundred-seventy-five dollars weekly to more than two-hundred-thousand jobless Floridians.
The unemployment agency asks people to be patient when the new site first comes online, as there will likely be longer-than-usual wait times and some busy signals when it first launches.
Visit www.floridajobs.org/connect for more information on the changes.
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