More than $164 million is headed to state unemployment insurance departments for improvements to IT, cyber-security and system modernization, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday, Sept. 28.

Unemployment benefits systems have been straining to keep pace with an increased workload as the U.S. economy has sunk into recession and the national unemployment rate has neared 10 percent. The influx of users has slammed many states' unemployment benefits Web portals, and call centers have been jammed.

The supplemental funds announced Monday will be used on various projects aimed at improving service for both unemployment insurance claimants and employers, according to the Department of Labor. They include system modernizations, tax collections and appeals processing, and improvements to IT contingency and security plans.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said in a news release that "these grants will help states improve their technology infrastructure and better serve those in need."

The states that received the most money were Georgia ($8.8 million) ,Oregon ($7.6 million) and Ohio ($7.6 million).