SALEM (AP) — The Oregon Employment Department hopes to have its phone and computer systems back to normal by this afternoon, after a weekend crush of people trying to file for benefit extensions caused the systems to crash.

Department spokesman Craig Spivey said most people should get their weekly unemployment checks on time.

Oregon, which has a 12.2 percent jobless rate, extended emergency unemployment pay this week to those whose benefits have expired. That produced a surge of calls Sunday from people trying to file for the extension.

The high demand caused a computer server to crash while state workers were doing maintenance on the state’s computer network. The 60 percent of unemployed who usually file online for their weekly checks then turned to the telephone to file their claims, along with those looking for emergency extensions.

The department hopes to have both the computer and phone systems back to normal today, he said.

While the department’s Salem telephone lines were jammed, staff in offices elsewhere in the state began calling the estimated 6,000 people eligible for emergency benefits, Spivey said. The first emergency extension checks go out next week, and those eligible will get their money on time, even if they wait until Friday to file, he said.

The department encouraged all other unemployed workers to file for benefits online to relieve pressure on the phone lines, Spivey said.

“We’re just asking for patience,” he said.