Countless people expressed frustrations of claiming unemployment money. With millions of New Yorkers financially unstable for the first time, the state Department of Labor is seeing an unprecidented spike in activity.

When I tried to set up this story, I called the Department of labor four times. Each time, my call disconnected on the first ring. Eventually I heard back, but because of the high volume of calls, they were only able to give me information through email.

What they sent me was a step by step process of how to apply. Follow along step by step. I went through the process and had no issues getting to the "File a claim" option. It only took a few minutes.

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Depending on your last name, that will determine what day to apply. For last names that begin with "A-F," you're on Monday; "G–N" on Tuesday and "O–Z" on Wednesday. If you missed your day, Thursday and Friday are open enrollment.

By noon Monday, the Labor Department received more than 21,000 calls and 110,000 website visits. Compared to the 2,000 calls and 42,000 website visits the whole day last Tuesday, you get a real scope of how busy they are. Keep trying, be understanding and stay patient. The goal is to help everyone. It's just going to take a little more work.