The Unemployment Insurance Claims Center experiences its highest call volume on Mondays, the day following a holiday, and in the mornings during the week.
In order to better serve you and to avoid long hold times, we recommend calling back during non-peak hours: Tuesday through Friday 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
If you have been laid off, and need to open a claim this week, calling later in the week will not impact your benefits.
You may also avoid hold times by filing your weekly claim or reopening an existing claim online through the claimant portal at Unemployment Insurance | Department of Labor (vermont.gov).
UPDATE: 11/22/2023
We are currently experiencing technical difficulties with the online Claimant Portal. Please try again tomorrow. If you call the Claimant Assistance Center instead, please be aware that we are experiencing extremely high call volume with longer than normal hold times. If you have a requirement to look for work, please have your work search efforts readily available for the Customer Service Representative to take over the phone.
Thank you and we apologize for the inconvenience.