Missouri hires consulting firm to catch up on unemployment claims

The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations hired professional services consulting firm Ernst and Young to help the state catch up on its backlog of unemployment claims.

The $9 million contract calls on Ernst and Young to set up a 125-person call center and to review the state's unemployment system.

“Every claim that awaits an eligibility determination is an individual facing uncertainty on the next step of how to pay for groceries, rent and other bills,” Labor Department Director Anna Hui said. “This is why we are engaging the help of Ernst and Young.”

Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.