State to Launch Online Unemployment Claims Filing

In this Phase I launch, internet claims filing will be available for unemployment claimants who:

- Reside in Hawai`i;
- Are totally unemployed; and
- Worked only for Hawai`i employers.

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations estimates that half of the state's jobless claims can be self-filed over the internet in this initial launch. 

Unemployment claimants who are filing a partial or part total claim, reactivating an existing claim, are filing from the mainland, or worked for the federal government, military or out of state employer must still file their application in person at their nearest local claims office or by calling the Hawai`i Tele-Claim at 808-643-5555.

Claimants applying from the mainland can call toll free at 1-877-215-5793. The department plans to allow online filing for this group of claimants in Phase II of its internet claims filing on a later date.

"We look forward to improving customer service by offering another filing option for claimants that will help alleviate the strain on the telephone and in-person filing systems," said Ching.