TAMPA, Fla. -- CareerSource Tampa Bay switched gears from helping place people in careers to helping them file for unemployment. 

  • CareerSource Tampa Bay helping people file for unemployment
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The organization's CEO is optimistic and said he thinks the economy will be getting back to normal by summer. 

"This will turn around. The good thing about this is there's no underlying issues to the economy. The economy is functionally strong.  What we're dealing with is a pandemic to which the likes we've never seen, and what we were told is we need to stop working and stay at home, so that has some down the line ramifications as it relates everyone's employment,” said John Flanagan, CEO of CareerSource Tampa Bay. 

Flanagan said right now we are in unprecedented times. In just the last three weeks hundreds of thousands of Floridians filed for unemployment, which caused major backlogs to the filing system. 

Tanji Shelton knows all about those issues with the system. She’s tried filing for unemployment benefits since mid-March after being furloughed from her job at a law firm. 

Tanji said even with the upgrades to the unemployment website, she still hasn’t been able to file her claim, and while she’s in a good position, she’s worried about the families who aren’t. 

“The children need to be taught and fed and everything else. They don't have time for this aggravation, yet there's no money to buy food to feed the family, and there's just miscommunication and aggravation all the way around,” said Shelton.