Sign of the times

Via ProJo:

More than 1,200 people have applied to fill 40 new jobs at the state Department of Labor and Training to process claims for unemployment benefits, agency director Sandra M. Powell said at a State House hearing in Providence.

There are so many candidates, the agency will need help from another state department just to sort through the applications and begin hiring.

Legislators, meanwhile, are worried that the agency is not working quickly enough to reduce the backlog of thousands of calls and e-mails from people who've lost their jobs -- and are still looking for their first payment of unemployment benefits.