Michigan officials respond to anger over unemployment filing issues

DETROIT – Thousands of people were on the Local 4 Facebook page as the Michigan Unemployment Agency answered your questions live.

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The agency talked about what’s being done to handle claims and what’s happening to keep the system from crashing.

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The system has simply been overwhelmed with more than 1 million Michiganders filing for benefits. Even more are eligible to file, including low-wage earners and independent contractors.

The UIA says most of the technical issues have been fixed, but demand is still high and many residents are either still having trouble getting through to file -- or they are waiting on a response. The UIA says about 5-8 percent are having trouble.

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