Outage at part of state site for unemployment claims persists

DES MOINES — Iowans who want to use the state website for job search information remain unable to do so, as the iowaworks.gov website remained down Friday, as it has been all week.

The outage is an issue with the site’s vendor, Geographic Solutions, which is dealing with a similar challenge in other states the company serves.

A spokesman for the state workforce development department said Friday there is no concrete timeline from the vendor for when the site will be running again.

The outage does not affect jobless claims or benefits in Iowa, the state department spokesman said. Iowa Workforce Development’s main website continues to operate normally, and both new and continuing unemployment claims can be filed at iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov.

The outage prevents Iowans who are receiving unemployment benefits from recording their job search history. Because of that outage, the state department is not requiring beneficiaries to enter their ongoing job search information until iowaworks.gov again is operational, the spokesman said.

Job seekers can use the National Labor exchange website usnlx.com to conduct job searches, including in Iowa.

Any Iowans receiving unemployment benefits who have questions or concerns about their claims should contact Iowa Workforce Development at uiclaimshelp@iwd.iowa.gov or (866) 239-0843, according to a department news release.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com