BUFFALO, N.Y. — We've heard from a lot of Western New Yorkers who have been waiting for their first unemployment check for two months or longer.
New numbers out Thursday show more than 200,000 New Yorkers filed initial unemployment claims last week, and more than 2 million have filed since mid-March.
Kayleigh Henley last worked March 14. Henley does administrative work for a debt buying agency and hasn't gotten any unemployment benefits yet.
Like so many people, she's called the New York State Department of Labor thousands of times and can't get any answers despite having a valid claim on file.
"What do you think they should be doing to help people?" 2 On Your Side’s Kelly Dudzik asked.
"I mean, I watch you guys every night. I know they're saying that they've hired more people and more customer service representatives," Henley said. "But even with that, I still can't get anybody on the phone. If somebody would just give me a reason why, you know, it's taken so long, like hey, waiting to hear back from your employer, or whatever the case may be.
"I feel like if they would just make the phone system, or the system, more responsive or get a callback feature, say, hey, listen, I know we're experiencing a high volume of calls. Let me take your information. We'll call you back at a different time."
Thursday, we also spoke with a single mom who is having problems getting her back pay as she struggles to pay her bills. Her story will air at 6 Thursday night.