Why don't some of our state's unemployed people try to get work at Washington's beleaguered unemployment benefits call center? Here's one person who's trying to do just that...

I've been out of work since October. I used to have a nice contract job at a software firm testing games. I loved my job and while it wasn't the best paying job, I was able to pay rent and eat and was happy. That's slowly coming to an end. I've been applying to administrative jobs since the end of October with no luck. I used to be able to get an admin job within a week or two, but I've been sending out about 2-3 resumes a day since the first of the year (before then it was about 1-2 a week, not realizing how stiff the competition has gotten). I've gotten one response out of all that work. The response came last week, asking if I was still interested in a position I applied for on the 22nd of Jan—but no follow up after I said yes.

I heard about all the problems at the Unemployment Office and decided to try my luck. I sent in an application on Friday, but their first round of hires won't be starting until March 1st. I'm worried I won't make rent for March.

I grew up poor and am used to getting by on very little, but I never thought I'd be worried about rent. I went to college and have experience in the Administrative and Technical fields, and can't make just $700 for rent. The past two months have been demoralizing and depressing and all I want to do is answer phones and file papers. It shouldn't be this hard.