Legislation introduced by Republican lawmakers would mandate recipients of unemployment benefits actively search for work, a requirement that hasn’t been in place since the pandemic began in March.
Traditionally, unemployment benefits have been linked to a job-search requirement. But in a March 10 executive order, Gov. Roy Cooper waived that requirement due to the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic.
Now that the economy is improving and rates of infection, hospitalization, and death in North Carolina are steadily declining, lawmakers believe it’s time for the job-search requirement to make a comeback.
North Carolina’s unemployment rate peaked at 12.9% in April before declining to 6.2% by December, the most recent month for which data are available. Due to the state’s improving employment situation, North Carolina no longer meets the federal government’s threshold for paying extended unemployment benefits up to 24 weeks after traditional unemployment benefits run
$10 Billion in Unemployment Claims Have Been Paid Out in NC chapelboro.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chapelboro.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Initial daily state and federal unemployment benefit claims appear to be stabilizing in the 4,000 to 5,000 range, according to the latest N.C. Division of Employment Security report Friday.
Unemployment benefit payments exceed $10 billion in N C for pandemic journalnow.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from journalnow.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.