Texas Workforce Commission website back online after outage
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A web portal that helps unemployed Texans access key jobless benefits is operating again after it was down Monday morning.
The Texas Workforce Commission said that some of the web applications on its website were temporarily down.
TWC could not say what caused the error. Officials added that they were still working to get the information.
TWC said about 121,000 unemployed Texans were able to make a payment request Sunday before the outage. Those who weren't able to will have to wait until Thursday at the earliest, but can also make the request on Friday or Saturday.
The outage came at a difficult time for many Texans, who use the website to make unemployment claims and payment requests.
One man told ABC13 he desperately needs the money as his car payment is due.
"I haven't slept all night because I've been fighting with this," he said. "There's no worse feeling than (not) knowing how do I pay my bills."
We're working to get answers as far what the temporary outage meant for making requests and if there will be another opportunity to do so.
Last week, the U.S. Labor Department said the unemployment rate in Texas dropped to 6.9% in October from the state's rate of 8.3% in September.
It was a sign of the state's slow and uneven economic rebound from the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott closed businesses across the state to control the virus.
Still, there has been a new wave of coronavirus infections that could further threaten the economic recovery.
Abbott has ruled out "any more lockdowns," despite critics calling on him to reimpose safety restrictions.
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