Pennsylvania's new unemployment benefits system is now online and accepting claims, the Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) announced Tuesday. 

Claims are now being accepted at benefits.uc.pa.gov. 

The new system Unemployment Compensation (UC) system replaces a 40-year-old system. The new system will make it easier and faster for users and staff, according to L&I officials. 

A phone outage Tuesday morning affected L&I hotlines to go down. However, the system was back online by 11 a.m. Claimants can call the UC Service Center with questions about the new system at 888-313-7284 or email uchelp@pa.gov. 

L&I officials are notifying users of status updates and system upgrades through social media, direct messaging and through the UC System Check Enhancements Tracker.

The system launched just after 3 a.m. Tuesday morning. More than 41,000 claims had been filed by 10:40 a.m.