State officials say Tennessee continues to make strides in delivering unemployment services to both employers and claimants after implementation of new software systems over the last year.

The information was shared earlier this week at the semi-annual meeting of the Unemployment Compensation Advisory Council, upon which NFIB has seat.

Specifically, leaders with the Employment Security Division of the Department of Labor & Workforce Development noted:

• 97% of employers are getting their new account numbers instantaneously; before the new system upgrade, approximately only 60% of employers were getting them within 90 days
• There are 193,000 employer accounts in the new system (called IRIS), up from 120,000 nine years ago
• The division received 1,100 claims from federal workers during the recent government shutdown
• None of those claims are being paid through the employer-funded state trust fund, which has a $1.5 billion balance
• Software improvements are making various turnaround times much faster for employers and claimants · More employers are filing “employer-filed claims” of mass layoffs of 50 or more workers, which is a more efficient method for all concerned
• The department continues its efforts to connect unemployed workers to jobs through various workforce-ready programs

One NFIB member in Nashville recently asked the state to restore the ability to print the quarterly wage report immediately after entering the data in the new system. Officials said the request has been submitted to the vendor to make the improvement by January. NFIB members are encouraged to send any other suggestions for further improvements to Tennessee’s unemployment system by emailing State Director Jim Brown.

Learn more here:

• Jobs4TN.gov links for employers and claimants
• Employment Security Division main page
• Workforce resources at tnworkready.com