RALEIGH -- About 78,000 jobless people in the state who have exhausted their unemployment benefits are about to receive letters urging them to apply for the latest round of extended benefits approved by Congress.
The N.C. Security Employment Commission is preparing to send out the letters this month as it begins administering the extension, which increases benefits by up to 20weeks. Congress boosted maximum jobless benefits five weeks ago from 79 weeks to 99 weeks in the midst of the nation's most severe economic recession in decades.
So far, 19,900 jobless people in North Carolina have automatically received the extended benefits, David Clegg, the commission's deputy chairman and chief operating officer, told the commission during a public meeting Thursday in Raleigh.
But thousands more are ready to begin receiving the extended benefits. They will have to wait, possibly several weeks longer.
The ESC has heard frustrations for months as it plows through a backlog of claims. ESC officials say the agency needed six weeks to prepare its computer system to start processing the extended benefits.
"It's not an easy flip of the switch," said spokesman Larry Parker. "Sending them a letter now is going to encourage them to start doing something with the system that can't be done because the system hasn't been implemented yet."
The 78,000 people who will be notified by mail didn't automatically qualify because their weekly payments had run out when the limit was set at 79 weeks. Those people could resume receiving benefits if they are still unemployed, have been looking for work and meet other criteria.
The jobless figures show that about a fourth of the people in the state who are receiving unemployment benefits today or potentially qualify have been out of work for more than 79 weeks. The state is currently paying benefits to 318,441 people.
"We're putting $50 million into the North Carolina economy a day," Clegg told the commissioners. "You can see the significant role that money is doing to keep the retail sector of local economies functioning."
The ESC's staff spent much of Thursday presenting economic and employment data to the commission. The data show that the state owes the federal government $1.4 billion borrowed this year to pay jobless benefits.
About half of all unemployment claims are filed by employers for their former workers. Those uncontested claims are usually paid the next day, chief counsel Thomas Whitaker said. The other half is filed by the workers themselves, and those are often challenged by the former bosses, resulting in hearings, appeals and potential delays.
The crush of claims has forced the agency to beef up staff to deal with a backlog of contested claims that has put the ESC out of compliance with federal standards for processing claims, Whitaker said.
Some contested claims were lagging by about four weeks, but those delays have since been reduced to a week or two, Parker said.
Deadline looms
However, uncertainty looms for the jobless because the congressionally approved extensions expire Dec. 31. If Congress doesn't renew the extensions, most of the people receiving benefits now would be cut off in the next several months, as they use up their extensions. If the extensions are not renewed, the unemployed would be limited to 26 weeks of benefits.
On Wednesday, the National Governors Association urged Congress to renew the extensions. Gov. Bev Perdue plans to send her own letter to the North Carolina delegation in Congress, her spokeswoman said.
Weekly jobless benefits are equivalent to two-thirds of past wages, up to $505 a week.
The state's $1.4 billion debt is largely connected to the unemployment rate, which stands at 11 percent in North Carolina.
"We're going to have a long challenge before us for years to come as to how we grow our economy," said Betty McGrath, a statistician who runs the agency's labor market information bureau.
