LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- More Kentuckians are reporting problems as they try to file for unemployment benefits.
Gov. Andy Beshear has said for weeks that Kentucky's unemployment system lags behind the demand as a result of business closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beshear said more than 1,000 people should be working in the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet now after only having 12 people just a few weeks ago.
However, many people filing for the first time are still running into issues with the system.
"I know they're busy, so I'm trying to be patient," said Jared Pridgen, a server at a high-end restaurant in Louisville. "When you do call, there's a button to push to say this is about COVID-19, and if you do, they take your phone number and put you on a call list."
Several callers to WDRB News on Monday said they were unable to access the unemployment site at all. Pridgen said he filed his first claim for unemployment on March 17 but has yet to receive a check.
"Right now, it's just disconnected, because you don't hear back," he said.
Meanwhile, many Americans received their federal stimulus money at the end of last week or over the weekend. The IRS has said that the first people to receive checks are those that have filed their taxes and have direct deposit information on file.
Pridgen had not received his money as of Monday afternoon but said the $1,200 he expects can only go so far.
"It helps some," he said. "You'll definitely take any help you can get, but $1,200 won't be enough to bridge a month's worth of bills."
Instead, he believes trying to wait out the unemployment back up is his best bet.
"I'm just going to wait it out as long as I can, but at a certain point, I have to start making money," he said.
In Kentucky, 279,307 people have filed for unemployment since March 15. In Indiana, 282,567 people filed for the first time, including 108,628 last week.
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