Accenture inks N.J. unemployment insurance system deal

Citizens filing claims for unemployment insurance in New Jersey should see better service in the months ahead when the state deploys a new claims system built by Accenture Ltd.

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development has awarded Accenture of Hamilton, Bermuda, a four-year, $39.9 million contract to implement the state's new Unemployment Compensation Claimant and Employer Service System, company officials said today.

Terms of the deal call for Accenture to integrate unemployment claims interfaces with back-office document management systems to improve business processes and enhance service delivery.

Accenture's partners on this project are First Data Government Solutions LP, of Englewood, Colo., for telephony implementation services and Chicago Systems Group Inc., of Chicago, Ill. for technical and programming services.

The new system will provide state employees with better tools to answer questions from customers and decrease the time it takes to process and pay unemployment insurance claims. Claimants and employers will still be able to communicate with department employees in person and via postal mail.

Accenture, which offers health and human services IT solutions to more than 30 states, has about 123,000 employees, and annual revenues of $15.5 billion. The company ranks No. 25 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list, which measures federal contracting revenue.