PROVIDENCE — Despite doubling its staff, the state office that distributes payments to Rhode Island’s unemployed is struggling to keep up with requests for aid.

Callers to the unemployment insurance service center languish on hold for 1½ hours. Claims filed online as far back as Jan. 16 have not been reviewed –– a 42-day delay for laid-off workers whose utility bills and mortgage payments are piling up.

“I’m still getting calls that it’s hard to get through,” state Rep. Joanne M. Giannini, D-Providence, said at a legislative hearing yesterday. “I find that unacceptable.”

The delays began late last year, as spiking unemployment overwhelmed the state Department of Labor and Training.

By December, the jobless rate had reached 10 percent, the highest level in three decades, and accessing unemployment benefits meant an hour cradling the phone. In January, the average hold time doubled.

Angry residents have deluged lawmakers with complaints about telephone purgatory, prompting hearings by the House Finance Committee. To ease the backlog, the state has substantially increased the staff at the unemployment insurance service center.

Last month, it added 10 new employees. This month, 23 retired employees returned to their jobs and the state hired 44 new staff members to field calls and e-mails, review claims and process payments.

The retired employees are scheduled to leave on Monday, though Sandra M. Powell, the director of the Department of Labor and Training, has asked lawmakers to delay that deadline.

The reinforcements are speeding the operation, Powell said. All e-mails received before last Sunday have been answered; all phone messages left before last Monday have been returned.

Beginning Monday, the hours operators answer calls will increase. For the first time, callers will be able to enter the holding queue from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and operators will field inquiries until 7 p.m. Previously, calls received after 3 p.m. landed in voice mail and operators completed their shifts an hour later.

“This is a big change for us,” Raymond A. Filippone, Powell’s top deputy, said.

The backlog of requests has been shrinking, and that could improve as new employees complete an expedited training program, cut in half to only three weeks.

Still, lawmakers are not satisfied. As of Wednesday, there were 8,211 claims that had not been processed. After a claim is approved, money is typically not paid for at least 21 days.

There were 56,800 unemployed state residents at the end of December, and about 40 percent of them are eligible for unemployment benefits. (The January unemployment rate is expected to be announced on Tuesday.)

Rep. Steven M. Costantino, chairman of the House Finance Committee, has promised regular hearings into the delays. The unemployed are “suffering because of the system,” he said yesterday.

The worsening economy has increasingly burdened the unemployment insurance office even as it has raced to sift through claims that began pouring in during the original surge last year.

It could get worse if state lawmakers elect to broaden eligibility for unemployment benefits in return for millions of dollars in federal support.

Rhode Island qualifies for $7.8 million in economic stimulus funds for unemployment assistance, Powell said. But to receive an additional $15.7 million, the state would have to offer more generous support for its growing legion of jobless.

Among the possible changes to qualify for the added infusion is an expansion of unemployment benefits to laid off part-time workers, such as single mothers, who are only available for part-time positions.

That provision has caused controversy in other states, where lawmakers worry about introducing a costly program that local taxpayers would have to pay for long after the stimulus money has run out.

In Rhode Island, the proposed part-time worker program would cost an estimated $4 million a year, Powell said. “It’s an important public policy issue,” she said.

Rhode Island could use the money. The state unemployment fund has been severely depleted by the rise in claims and the loss of businesses that contribute. Its balance stands at $23 million. Last month alone, the state handed out $34.3 million from the fund.

bgedan@projo.com