EDD call center hours - are they actually open when they say they are?

The posted hours are correct but there's a catch - they take a full lunch break from noon to around 1:30pm where literally nobody answers. I wasted 3 hours calling during lunch before figuring this out.

Don't call right at 8am either, that's when everyone else is calling. I have better luck around 2:30-3pm after their lunch break ends.

I was getting frustrated with the endless calling too until someone told me about Claimyr. It's a service that calls for you and puts you through when they reach an agent. Saved me literally hours of redialing.

The hours are real but good luck actually getting through during peak times. Monday mornings are impossible, Friday afternoons they basically stop answering new calls after 3pm.

Here's what I've learned after calling for 2 weeks straight: Best times are Wed-Thu 2:30-4pm. Worst times are Mon 8-10am, any day 12-1:30pm, and Fri after 3pm. Also the 800 and 833 numbers are the exact same line despite what people say.

I work nights so I can only call during certain hours. Been trying for weeks at 8am sharp and it's always busy. Thinking about using one of those callback services.

They're technically open 8-5 but realistically you need to dedicate your entire day just to get on hold. I've gotten through 4 times total and each time it took 2+ hours of constant redialing.

Pro tip: Don't waste time after 4pm any day. They seem to stop taking new calls even though they're supposedly open until 5. Learned this the hard way.

The lunch break thing is so annoying. Like why not stagger lunch breaks so someone's always available? It's 2024, this shouldn't be happening.

I finally got smart and started using Claimyr after wasting 2 weeks of my life calling manually. Got connected to an agent in 25 minutes and resolved my claim issue same day.

The hours are M-F 8-5 but factor in lunch 12-1:30 where they don't answer, plus they're basically useless before 9am due to call volume. Your realistic window is 9-12 and 1:30-4.

Been calling for my overpayment issue for 3 weeks now. The hours mean nothing when you can't get through. Seriously considering just driving to an office at this point.

Quick tip: If you're going to call manually, have coffee ready and start dialing at 7:55am before they officially open. Sometimes you can get in the queue early.

The real hours should be listed as 'officially 8-5 but good luck getting through.' I've had better success with automated services than trying to reach a human during business hours.

After 6 months of dealing with EDD I can tell you the hours are technically correct but practically useless. Your best bet is either calling Wed-Thu afternoons or using something like Claimyr to skip the hassle entirely.

Here's the reality: Posted hours 8-5, lunch break 12-1:30 (no one answers), peak impossible times Mon mornings and Fri afternoons, best window Wed-Thu 2:30-4pm. Plan accordingly.

I track my calling attempts in a spreadsheet because I'm that desperate. Out of 127 calls over 2 weeks, I got through exactly once. The hours don't mean much when the success rate is less than 1%.

Last week I finally got through using Claimyr after failing for weeks calling myself. The hours are 8-5 but your sanity is worth more than trying to call during those hours manually.

Bottom line: EDD call center hours are M-F 8am-5pm PT but subtract lunch 12-1:30pm, subtract the first hour due to volume, subtract the last hour because they stop taking calls, and you're left with maybe 4-5 usable hours per day IF you're lucky.

I've been dealing with the same frustration for weeks now. What helped me was keeping a log of when I called and the results - turns out Tuesday and Wednesday between 2-4pm had the highest success rate for me. Also discovered that if you get the "all representatives are busy" message, hanging up and calling back immediately sometimes works better than waiting for the system to disconnect you. The lunch break blackout from 12-1:30pm is real and absolutely not mentioned anywhere official, which is maddening. Save yourself the headache and avoid calling on Mondays entirely - it's like the whole state decides to call EDD on Monday morning.

I've been tracking my call attempts too and can confirm the patterns everyone's mentioning. After 89 attempts over 10 days, I finally got through yesterday at 3:15pm on a Thursday. What worked for me was using the comma trick (dial the main number, then when the menu starts, press 1,2,1 really quickly to skip the long intro). Also noticed that when you get the busy signal, waiting exactly 2-3 minutes before calling back seems more effective than calling immediately. The system seems to temporarily "remember" your number if you call too rapidly. Tuesday-Thursday 2:30-4pm is definitely the sweet spot, and yes, avoid Mondays like the plague. Still took 45+ attempts even during the "good" times, but at least I knew I wasn't wasting my time during impossible hours.