Frustrated Oklahomans Return To Reed Center For Unemployment Help

Hundreds of Oklahomans lined up at the Reed Center in Midwest City Thursday morning to get help with their unemployment claims, for the second day in a row.

Officials with the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission tell News 9 that they'll be able to help up to 500 people per day at the Reed Center, where long lines filled the parking lot as early as Tuesday afternoon.

Those who were waiting in line early told News 9 that they were dispersed only to line up again.

"They chased everyone away at around 11 p.m. By 11:45, people were already starting to line up again. So, I decided it's best to come on down and get in line," said Terry Scott, a veteran who was in line for hours.

The main OESC office, located near the state Capitol, as well as the offices on the east side of the city and in Shawnee are all closed for this event.

On Thursday, OESC officials separated the line into three different groups: passes with numbers, passes without numbers and no passes at all.

People spent hours waiting in line for passes on Wednesday.

“They had a stack of them. They were passing them out we were already dispersing because we were out here for so long,” said Abdul Ali, who was near the front of the line Thursday morning.

The OESC says the those with numbered passes would be served first, then everyone after that. More than 11 hundred people lined up Wednesday.

This is a developing story.