Editorial

If you think scheduling with the TRIPS man is an automated nightmare, imagine filing for unemployment through a telephone registration center. "Press one to access Athens County..."

After incurring a $40 million penalty from the federal government, Ohio is considering closing its 56 unemployment offices and replacing them with telephone registration centers. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services is hoping to save about $10 million by doing so.

But the financial loss of keeping the centers open will not compare to the social loss of closing them.

Unemployment offices match people with jobs and help them file for state unemployment benefits - all of which could be done via telephone. But something closely related to the personal nature of unemployment is lost when service goes electronic. A reassuring smile, a handshake or a human voice can be of more use than streamlined efficiency.

And the plan's projected $10 million savings likely will be less than expected when offices dole out early retirement plans and unemployment benefits to their former employees.

Proponents of the new plan say it will cut down on long lines at local offices, but Pennsylvanians who have used their state's new file-by-phone service might disagree. Pennsylvania's six telephone registration centers have reported complaints about unanswered phone calls and busy signals. The Daily News, a Philadelphia newspaper, said in a Dec. 18 article that it was unable to get a live person on the telephone in three days of dialing.

Unemployment offices exist to provide a necessary social service, one that will not neatly convert to automation. Budget fat cutters should look elsewhere if they want to mitigate Ohio's financial woes.