AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Labor says there’s been a delay in issuing unemployment benefits to 2,200 Maine workers, due to a problem with the computer system that processes the payments.

The problem halted processing of unemployment checks, direct deposits, and other notifications Tuesday and Wednesday. Claimants who filed over the weekend or during the day Monday should have received payments as usual. Those who filed Monday night or later have had benefits delayed.

Chief Information Officer Jim Smith said the goal was to have the system back online Thursday afternoon.

Once the system is fixed, payments for Tuesday through Thursday would be processed and sent to the bank that night and then forwarded through the bank’s normal processing to debit cards or individuals’ direct deposit accounts.