What is the Minnesota unemployment phone number?

Not every CareerForce location is open to someone who simply walks in: some take appointments only, some switch to virtual service on Friday, and a few open for only part of the week. The hours sit at the foot of this page, location by location, and they are worth a minute before you drive anywhere.

Which number to call about your claim

DEED runs one automated phone system for unemployment, reached on a different number depending on where you call from.

• Twin Cities area: 651-296-3644
• Greater Minnesota: 1-877-898-9090

Callers who are deaf or hard of hearing reach that same automated system on the teletypewriter line, 1-866-814-1252.

A UI Customer Service representative is there Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The automated system itself runs wider hours, Sunday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., so a call outside representative hours still reaches the system.

Those numbers also take a first application, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. DEED gives each first-time applicant one weekday to start, set by the last digit of their Social Security number, and will only let them apply on that assigned day, or on Thursday or Friday if they missed it. How to file a Minnesota unemployment claim has the day schedule and what to have in front of you.

Calling to request your weekly payment

Requesting a payment on that automated line has its own day and half-day, again by the last digit of your Social Security number.

Thursday and Friday are open to every digit, so missing your own half-day does not cost you the week.

Requesting online carries no assigned day at all: Sunday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., whatever your number ends in. Requesting a Minnesota benefit payment each week covers what the request asks you.

Help in a language other than English

The automated system opens with a language choice: English, Spanish, Hmong, or Somali. For any other language, press 1 and follow the prompts to reach a representative and ask for an interpreter.

Where to mail or fax something

Mail for UI Customer Service goes to P.O. Box 4629, St. Paul, MN 55101-4629, and the fax line is 651-205-4007. An appeal has its own filing instructions, which appealing a Minnesota denial sets out.

What a CareerForce location does, and does not, do

CareerForce is the state's official career exploration and job search resource, and its services are free, online, over the phone, and in person. A specialist can review a resume, run interview prep, plan career goals with you, and point you to training for in-demand occupations, and there is financial assistance for career counselor-approved training through the Dislocated Worker Program for eligible Minnesotans.

None of that includes your unemployment insurance questions. DEED's instruction is that only a UI Customer Service representative can answer those accurately, so take those to the numbers above rather than to a location.

To find a location or reach staff, call 651-259-7500. CareerForce from Anywhere is the department's remote service point: it publishes that same number and the email address CareerForce@state.mn.us, and no street address at all. CareerForce's own locator also lists Library CareerForce Corners as a separate category of location, alongside CareerForce locations and the Vocational Rehabilitation Services and State Services for the Blind offices.

Every location, and when each one is open

CareerForce publishes hours on each location's own page, and they are not the same everywhere. The locations below publish a restriction worth knowing before you travel.

• Albert Lea, Austin, Faribault, Kasson, Red Wing, and Wabasha each open 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Thursday, with Friday by appointment only.
• Hutchinson opens 8:00 AM to 11:45 AM and again 12:45 PM to 4:30 PM Monday through Thursday, and is closed to the public on Friday.
• Cambridge keeps those same split hours Monday through Thursday, then opens 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Friday by appointment only.
• Bloomington opens 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday, shuts the office and career lab from 12pm to 1pm, and runs Friday as virtual services only.
• New Ulm opens 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday and runs Friday as virtual services only.
• Crookston lists 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday, in person by appointment only, with phone and online appointments available.
• Mora is by appointment only from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, and open to the public from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Thursday.
• Litchfield takes appointments only from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, and opens to the public from 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM on Tuesday and from 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM to 4:00 PM on Wednesday.
• Thief River Falls opens to the public from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and for appointments only from 12:00 PM to 4:30 PM on those days and from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM on Tuesday and Thursday.
• Willmar offers services over the phone and online only on Monday and Friday, and lists 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, open to the public 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-4:00.
• Winona opens 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday, by appointment only on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
• Forest Lake lists hours on Friday only, 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
• Owatonna lists hours on Tuesday and Thursday only, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

Call the location before you set out if your visit depends on a particular day. The full list follows, city by city.