Behind every jobless call, a human drama

(Cheryl Senter for the Boston Globe) Debra Riddick thinks of her own unemployment struggles as she answers queries at the Lawrence call center.

LAWRENCE - In normal times, this would be the slow season for Debra Riddick. The phones would ring less often. She'd have a few minutes between calls to catch up on paperwork. Her voice might get some rest.

But these are hardly normal times for Riddick or her employer, the state Division of Unemployment Assistance. Riddick, 44, of Methuen, takes unemployment claims over the phone, and any hope for even a brief lull vanished months ago.

From her cubicle in the Lawrence call center, Riddick has a front line view of the economic tidal wave washing over the state. At exactly 8:30 a.m., she takes her first call, answering, "Debra Riddick speaking. May I help you?" She'll repeat that greeting as many as 60 times over the next 8 1/2 hours, as workers from Ludlow to Billerica to Plymouth file new claims, check old ones, or ask for information because they expect to be laid off.

"It's just gotten so hard out there," Riddick said. "You feel for people, you really feel for them."

Since the summer, the state's unemployment rate has jumped nearly 2 points, to 6.9 percent, the highest since the early 1990s. First-time claims for jobless benefits in Massachusetts are running more than 50 percent ahead of last year, according to the US Labor Department. The total number of workers collecting unemployment in the state has also soared about 50 percent, to more than 160,000.

As a result, the phones never stop ringing in the state's call centers in Boston, Brockton, Lawrence, and Springfield. About 165,000 calls poured in last month, up nearly 25 percent from a year earlier, according to the agency. Mark Wigler, the division's director of field operations, expects a similar increase this month.

For Riddick, though, each of these statistics has a voice. The caller is a worker who was laid off, called back, then laid off again. "We'll reopen your claim," Riddick says. "This happens all the time."

Or a Massachusetts resident who lost a job in Connecticut. "You have to file in the state where you earned wages," she explains. "If you have a pen and paper, I'm going to give you a number to call."

Or someone laid off for the first time. "It's all because of the economy," she counsels. "It's tough out there. Use the career centers."

Riddick knows how tough it can be. A single mother of a son who is now 20, she was out of work for nearly a year after getting laid off by a Haverhill manufacturer during the 2001 recession.

"The first thing you think is, `How am I going to pay the bills? How am I going to provide for my children?' " she recalled. "It gets very discouraging."

Riddick keeps her experiences in mind as she does her job. After getting laid off from Raytheon Co. during the recession of the early 1990s, she remembered, she stood in line for more than two hours to file a claim.

So when callers, frustrated by long periods on hold get through, her voice, melodic and gentle, will remain unchanged as she takes them through the claim: "What was the last physical day you worked? What do you make an hour? Do you have any children?" The frustration typically dissipates.

"Once you show that you're helping, they've forgotten the wait," she said. "You want to treat people the way you'd like to be treated."

Riddick grew up in Lawrence, graduating from Lawrence High School, then Chamberlayne Junior College, now part of Mount Ida College in Newton. She had worked many years in customer service for retailers and manufacturers before her layoff in 2001. Several months later, she found her job with the state while going through listings at ValleyWorks Career Center in Lawrence.

It's one of the reasons she urges callers to "use the career centers."

Riddick sits in front of a computer screen with a black three-ring binder filled with forms, phone numbers, and other information she might need to answer questions. She has an earpiece in her left ear, and a computer mouse in her right hand. With a mouse click, she enters the queue of waiting calls. The phone rings once. "Debra Riddick speaking. May I help you?"

Her hands slide across the keyboard like a pianist's, as she pecks the keys that record the claim. She cocks her head, listening intently to the caller. Before she wraps up, she asks, "Do you have any questions for me?" She clicks the mouse, and the call is gone. Another click, the phone rings. "Debra Riddick speaking. May I help you?"

Most callers are businesslike, says Riddick, looking to file the claims as efficiently as possible. Some crack jokes. Occasionally, one will cry.

"You give them a minute to gather themselves," says Riddick. "You tell them to keep their chins up, to keep going."

But on this day, Riddick is delivering good news. One caller with initial benefits about to expire, asks about an extension. "You're eligible for up to 20 more weeks," Riddick answers. "Oh, you're welcome . . . You're very welcome."

Another caller learns from Riddick that his first unemployment check will arrive in a day. He's so pleased, he asks for Riddick's direct phone number in case he has other problems. Riddick explains, however, that he'll have to call the main number, get into the queue and take his chances.

"With any luck," she says, "you may get me again."

Robert Gavin can be reached at rgavin@globe.com.