ALBANY, New York (AP) -- A rush of unemployment claims has crashed computer systems in New York and North Carolina states, overwhelmed by jobless people trying to file ahead of this week's deadline.
New York State labor department officials say the problem started Monday and caused the phone banks at the state's toll-free claims center to shut down, followed by the online filing system.
Leo Rosales, an agency spokesman, says as many as 10,000 people per hour were trying to log into the system.
Technicians are trying to bring the systems back online Tuesday afternoon but officials couldn't say when they'll be back up and available.
In North Carolina, the state's Internet site for benefits crashed twice this week under a rush of claims Monday.
Once the system was back up, the state set one-day records both for the amount of unemployment benefits paid and for the number of transactions, Employment Security Commission spokesman Andy James said.
The number of people trying to sign up online for new or continuing benefits was as much as triple pre-recession levels Sunday and Monday.
That volume, together with a phone line problem, overwhelmed the agency's computers and prevented some people from filing claims, James said.