NC scrambling to help thousands out of work due to coronavirus. Here’s how to file a claim.
Since Gov. Roy Cooper announced early Tuesday that he was planning to order bars and restaurants to close — a ban that went into effect later that day — nearly 18,000 North Carolinians have filed for unemployment.
That’s several thousand more people than filed for unemployment all of last month combined.
Numerous readers have written to The News & Observer complaining of glitches with the state website they need to use for filing unemployment claims. And with the sudden deluge of calls to the unemployment hotline since Tuesday, there have been reports of hours-long wait times to be able to talk with someone about resolving problems.
People who need to file an unemployment claim can do so online at www.des.nc.gov or over the phone at 888-737-0259. You’ll need your social security number, details about your work history and more. A lengthy FAQ can be found online at des.nc.gov/need-help/covid-19-information.
Larry Parker, a spokesman for the state’s Department of Employment Security which handles unemployment claims, said the office is working hard to help people while simultaneously upgrading their systems.
“On Wednesday evening, we upgraded our server capacity to handle more web traffic,” Parker said in an email Thursday. “This update should help those who may have experienced any issues on Wednesday while trying to file.”
Ben Misleh, a Wilmington caterer who lost his job because of coronavirus, told The N&O in an interview Wednesday that while he found the unemployment website hard to use, he had nothing but good experiences once he finally got in touch with people at the employment office for help over the phone.
“Frankly, I was kind of surprised with how responsive they were,” he said.
Cash payments for everyone?
Parker previously told The News & Observer that between noon Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday, 4,721 people had submitted new unemployment claims, specifically listing the reason as Covid-19, the disease that causes coronavirus. An additional 13,153 filed for claims throughout the day Wednesday and early Thursday morning, as of 10 .a.m.
North Carolina had around 11,000 unemployment claims in all of February combined, federal data shows. Now, coronavirus has caused well more than that many new claims in less than two days following Cooper’s order that bars and restaurants had to close, except for takeout and delivery.
Cooper himself acknowledged that his order would cause people to lose their jobs. But it’s an important public health measure, he said, to stop the spread of coronavirus, which has become a global pandemic.
“We did not come to this decision easily,” Cooper said Tuesday when he announced the closures. “But North Carolina must keep fighting this pandemic with the right weapons.”
Cooper’s executive order also included changes to the state’s unemployment rules, to help both business owners and people who are going to lose their jobs due to coronavirus. People who don’t technically get laid off but just have their hours cut might now be able to qualify for unemployment benefits anyway. And people who do qualify for unemployment due to coronavirus won’t have to prove they’re actively looking for new jobs or else lose their benefits.
“I recognize that this decision will cost people their jobs,” Cooper said Tuesday. “So this order also brings some relief.”
One thing Cooper couldn’t do on his own, because it requires the legislature to act, is to increase the amount of money North Carolinians can receive in unemployment benefits.
North Carolina has among the nation’s lowest unemployment benefits, The N&O reported Tuesday, due to budget cuts enacted in 2013 by the Republican-led state legislature to address a funding deficit. That $2 billion deficit has turned into a $4 billion surplus because of those cuts.
On Tuesday the N.C. Senate leader, Republican Phil Berger, didn’t promise that the benefits would increase — but did note that “we have a multi-billion surplus for times like this.”
State lawmakers are also exploring the idea of sending out widespread cash payments to North Carolinians, two Republican senators announced in a News & Observer op-ed on Wednesday.
“The legislature has been planning for an economic disruption for 10 years through prudent budget decisions,” wrote state senators Ralph Hise of Spruce Pine and Ted Alexander of Shelby. “We’ve built a multibillion dollar cash surplus and one of the healthiest unemployment insurance reserves in the country. We have the means for a proportionate response to an economic disruption. Times like this are exactly why.”
Those cash payments, if approved, could add to the cash payments the federal government is also considering sending out to adults across the country. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the idea “is gaining fast momentum” and has bipartisan support.
Other states also closing restaurants, schools
North Carolina is far from the only state dealing with economic uncertainty and rising unemployment because of coronavirus.
Several other states have taken the same measures Cooper did in closing bars and restaurants, as well as closing schools and limiting other social gatherings like festivals, concerts and other events.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that unemployment claims are “skyrocketing” nationwide. In just one day earlier this week, more than 50,000 people in Pennsylvania filed for unemployment, the paper reported, as did 36,000 people in Ohio and 31,000 in Minnesota.
On Monday, CNN quoted a former advisor to President Donald Trump, economist Kevin Hassett, saying that the U.S. could lose more than 1 million jobs due to coronavirus.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
