The call center has received between 7,000 and 10,000 calls per day since a new unemployment insurance system launched on Jan. 10, Haavind said. The average wait time is 30 to 40 minutes.

The busy season can make or break a call center. Call volumes spike, schedules tighten, and every interaction is important. In the trades industry—where HVAC, plumbing, and electrical calls require ...

But auditors found a total of 19.6 million calls were actually blocked or resulted in busy signals. "That's the piece that is most troubling," Cowles, R-Green Bay, said in an interview.