HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) -- A few years ago, things were very bad at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, which oversees unemployment claims.

It took an average 12 calls for someone to answer. An hour and a half wait times were the standard. Lawmakers noticed and publicly mocked the department at hearings.

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"When Pennsylvanians are unexpectedly out of work, they don't need another roadblock," said Gov. Josh Shapiro. "They need some help."

And they got it. Technology upgrades, including live online chats, and 380 more employees eliminated the backlog and nearly all the complaints.

" Last week we were able to hit a six year average call wait time low of nine minutes," said Labor Secretary Nancy Walker. "Nine m

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