Our Work

Challenge

In order to receive their Unemployment Insurance benefits each week, under federal requirements, residents must certify their eligibility by answering a series of questions. However, many of the questions were confusing and caused many residents to respond incorrectly, which then caused errors and delays in processing benefits. These cases were then flagged and required agency staff to manually review each claim, leading to further delays in receiving benefits. These errors also led many applicants to call the contact center, adding to phone wait times.

Innovation In Action

Working with the Department of Labor, the New Jersey Innovation Authority conducted user interviews to identify the questions causing the greatest confusion and how best to address these challenges. Based on these insights, NJIA simplified confusing questions and created clearer, customized error messages that explained how to fix the issue, giving users a greater sense of control in the system and reducing their need to speak with an agent. This resident-first approach to problem-solving underscores the ability to make significant improvements through front-end process changes without causing disruptions to one of the Department of Labor’s most critical systems.

Impact + Metrics

• As of February 2026, adding more accurate and actionable error messages has led to an 80% increase in applicants beginning the identity verification process and unlocking their benefit payments.
• The legacy weekly certification site has been completely overhauled with a simplified design that allows workers to apply for benefits from their phones.

Status

• NJIA continues to work with the Department of Labor to improve the certification process and release additional features.

Key Partners

• NJ State Department of Labor
• United States Digital Response