Over the past two weeks, more than 270,000 people have submitted unemployment claims in North Carolina. The majority of those claims were because of layoffs related to novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Gov. Roy Cooper says the first payments for unemployment will be going out this week.
The state received about 7,500 claims in the first two weeks of March before Gov. Cooper signed Executive Order No. 118 on March 17.
“Thousands of workers have lost jobs, but their bills don’t stop,” Cooper said. “My administration is working overtime to get unemployment checks out now. We’ll keep pushing every day for more state and federal help to save our workers and their families.”
On Saturday, the governor directed the Division of Employment Security to begin implementing the unemployment insurance provisions of the federal CARES Act.
The Division of Employment of Security expects to receive guidance from the federal government later this week about how to implement the changes, including the change that allows for an additional $600 in unemployment benefits. The state expects those payments to begin approximately two weeks after that guidance is provided.
Workers applying for benefits must complete their weekly certifications in order to receive unemployment insurance payments. The weekly certification is a series of ‘yes or no’ questions that help determine a person’s eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits each week. If a person does not complete a weekly certification, they will not receive a payment for that week.
The weekly certification must be completed through the individual’s online account at des.nc.gov.
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