Many unemployment benefits are running out this week. We’ve got answers to your questions.
This is the last week for the federal unemployment benefits originally approved as an emergency measure in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For North Carolinians currently on unemployment, that means that some will see their benefits cut by $300 a week, while others will lose their benefits entirely.
So what exactly does the end of those benefits mean for people on unemployment? What about those who might lose their jobs in the future? And what about business owners, or people interested in the political fights over unemployment?
Here are answers to those questions and more.
Q: Does the end of federal benefits only apply to new applicants, or will I lose my benefits that I’m currently receiving?
A: The end of the federal benefits applies to nearly everyone receiving unemployment benefits in the U.S., and will probably apply to everyone who gets them in North Carolina. Even if you only recently started qualifying for the payments, they will stop.
Most of the federal aid programs are definitely ending. CNBC recently reported that one program, called Extended Benefits, might keep going in some states — but probably only in Alaska, Connecticut, New Jersey and New Mexico, if at all.
However, people in North Carolina who are owed money from past weeks but have not yet been paid should still receive those payments retroactively, according to the state Division of Employment Security.
Q: What will this mean financially?
A: Many people on unemployment will see their payments cut by more than half, and some will be cut off entirely.
There were a few federal unemployment programs, although the main one paid out $300 a week for everyone. State benefits vary from person to person, but on average North Carolina pays people $235 per week, Spectrum News reported this summer. So a typical person here could see their jobless benefits drop from $535 to $235 a week — a difference of around $1,200 per month.
Q: I have questions about my individual situation. Where can I go for help?
A: The state government has several options. Go online to des.nc.gov for help with questions about your benefits, or ncworks.gov with questions about job opportunities, training, education options and more. They have FAQs, online chats for help, or phone lines to call.
Q: What else will change, other than the money?
A: Many people recently qualified for unemployment benefits for the first time ever because the federal rules were broader than the state rules. But as those end, it means North Carolinians who work in the gig economy will no longer qualify for unemployment in the future — nor will anyone who’s self-employed or works as an independent- or sub-contractor. None of those types of jobs are eligible for state benefits.
North Carolina’s benefits are also typically only available for 12 weeks, although state law does allow it to be extended to as many as 20 weeks if there’s high unemployment. Most states offer 26 weeks or more of benefits, however, and the federal changes had extended the normal benefits period in North Carolina.
Q: What is the job market like in North Carolina?
A: In total during the pandemic, more than 1.5 million North Carolinians applied for unemployment and 1 million of them were approved — around one in every five workers in the state. They received a total of $13.2 billion, or a little more than $13,000 per person on average, the vast majority of it paid for by the federal benefits that are now expiring.
The fact that so many people were out of work, often for months, highlights how widespread the pandemic’s effects were on the economy. But by now the unemployment rate has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels.
The unemployment rate has been below 6% every month this year. The most recent numbers put it at 4.4%. But the unemployment rate doesn’t count people who have stopped looking for work altogether. And there are also many open jobs around the state. Politicians opposed to higher unemployment benefits say the money has caused people not to want to work at all.
Q: What jobs are available?
A: The service industry has had highly publicized problems finding workers. Many restaurants and hotels are hiring right now, and some have raised their wages to be more competitive.
At a service industry job fair in downtown Durham Tuesday, some managers were collecting resumes and job applications to review, while others were handing out jobs on the spot.
But no job in North Carolina is in such high demand as nurses, according to ncworks.gov, the state-run job search and training website. It lists 14,694 job openings for registered nurses as of Sept. 1 and another 5,497 job openings for nursing assistants, and licensed practical or vocational nurses.
The top three other jobs with the most openings right now are retail, customer service and computer programming.
Q: Where can people get help finding work?
A: There are many options. Job search websites have many listings, and many areas of the state have nonprofit groups that connect job seekers with employers. The state has resources, too. The ncworks.gov site lets people search for jobs, or upload their resumes if they can’t find something they want. Business owners who are looking for workers can also use the website to search those resumes and connect with candidates.
The state also operates 80 Career Centers that will help people with resumes, job searches, internet access and more. Information on those services can be found at www.ncworks.gov/vosnet/ContactUs.aspx or by calling 1-855-NCWorks.
Q: What are the politics surrounding unemployment benefits?
A: The extended federal benefits began under Republican President Donald Trump. They had bipartisan support then, as the pandemic was causing many businesses to close. But after many businesses had reopened, and Democratic President Joe Biden was sworn in to office, Republicans began opposing the program. Congress dropped it from $600 a week to $300 a week, but conservatives said that was still too much.
Some Republican-led states cut off their benefits early, choosing to stop taking the federal money even before it ran out. Republican lawmakers in North Carolina passed a bill to do the same here, but Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed it. He said it would needlessly take money out of the economy, and would hurt people who were still looking for work and needed help paying bills or buying groceries.
Q: Now that the federal benefits are ending, will North Carolina reexamine state benefits?
A: It doesn’t seem likely. Republican lawmakers are the ones who made the cuts in 2013 that made North Carolina one of the stingiest states for unemployment benefits, and they continue to hold the majority. They did approve a temporary $50-per-week increase for some unemployed people that lasted for several months in 2020. But they shot down Democratic proposals to make larger and more permanent increases to either the amount of money or length of time available.
The legislature does have a committee on unemployment issues, but it has not met in months. Sen. Chuck Edwards, a Hendersonville Republican who runs several McDonald’s restaurants and co-chairs the unemployment committee, told The News & Observer last week that there are no plans for the committee to meet again anytime soon.
Q: Can Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, do anything?
A: Only the legislature can spend money, so Cooper can’t do anything on his own to extend the amount of weeks people can get benefits, or how much they’re paid. The Biden administration did recently tell states that they could use CARES Act money to copy the federal unemployment benefits even though Congress didn’t extend them. Cooper spokesman Ford Porter said Thursday he does not expect the legislature to do that.
But while Cooper doesn’t have control over spending, the unemployment system is part of his administration so he can make changes to some of the rules. He did that early in the pandemic, issuing an executive order to make it easier for people to get unemployment — for example if they didn’t get fired but did have their hours cut.
When he ordered many businesses to shut down in March 2020, Cooper also lifted the rule that people on unemployment have to prove they’re looking for work if they want to keep receiving benefits. However, he put that rule back into place a year later, in March of this year, as businesses had largely reopened.
At the time, he said the goal was to help people get jobs before this week — when the federal benefits are ending.
“Unemployment payments have been critical for families and we want them to have jobs before the payments end,” he said at the time.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Many unemployment benefits are running out this week. We’ve got answers to your questions.."
