Problems with Hawai'i's rapidly increasing unemployment rate are also showing up at the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, where people applying for jobless benefits can face lengthy waiting times and frustrating attempts trying to get the right people to answer calls.

People who've filed for unemployment say they can spend an hour or more filing claims as dozens of jobless people wait their turn for two or three clerks. Getting telephone calls through to workers is similarly difficult, they said.

"The last time I went there (the main unemployment office on Punchbowl Street) there were 67 people ahead of me and two people at the counter waiting on people," said an unemployed woman who asked not to be identified.

"I drove to Kane'ohe and waited in line behind about 25 over there."

The state has had to deal with a more than doubling of unemployment during the past year and faces the prospect of joblessness going higher this year. The Labor Department acknowledged there are problems but said it is working on speeding up processing times and providing better service.

"It's definitely something we've been dealing with because a lot of people have been waiting," said Ryan Markham, Labor Department spokesman. "We ask for everyone's patience."

He said the state already has boosted the number of overtime hours worked by unemployment insurance division employees and has hired 21 people in recent months. Markham said the agency wants to hire another 30, but that it takes time to obtain federal funds, get people trained and find space for the new workers.

Markham said some relief should come next Monday when the state launches a Web site that allows people to apply for unemployment benefits online.

He also suggested people try to wait until later in the week to file unemployment claims since the offices tend to be busier Monday through Wednesday. He said people will still be paid the same amount even if they file the last two days of the work week.