Cooper: Prove you are looking for a job if you want to collect unemployment benefits
Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order Friday, providing new directives for people who are receiving unemployment benefits transition back into employment.
Posted — Updated“Unemployment benefits have provided a critical lifeline for many North Carolinians living on the edge due to the pandemic. As our state emerges from the pandemic, we want to help people safely return to work as soon as possible. Reinstating the work search guidelines will help connect claimants with employers, resources and tools to help them return to the workforce,” Cooper said.
Under the order, all existing claimants of unemployment benefits will be required to fulfill work search requirements beginning June 6, 2021. All existing claimants will be required over the next several weeks to register with a jobseeker account on NCWorks.gov.
The order also directs the N.C. Department of Commerce to explore opportunities, consistent with federal law and through the use of certain federal funds, to establish a reemployment incentive program for jobless workers who find and maintain employment.
Under the order:
- Claimants must make contact with at least three different employers each week and keep a record of their work search, as is required by state law. One of the three weekly job contacts can be satisfied by attending an approved reemployment activity offered by a NCWorks career center or a partnering agency.
- To continue receiving benefits, all unemployment claimants will be required to register with a jobseeker account on NCWorks.gov, North Carolina’s online portal for employment and training services. Jobseekers can use NCWorks.gov to search and apply for jobs, access labor market information and find opportunities for workforce training. Over the next several weeks, existing claimants will receive notifications about registering for NCWorks.
- Since the start of the pandemic, North Carolina has distributed more than $11.7 billion in unemployment benefits across multiple state and federal programs. Approximately 245,000 North Carolinians are currently receiving benefit payments each week.
As of Friday, more than 1.5 million North Carolinians have applied for unemployment since March 15, 2020, including 13,671 this week. Nearly $11.8 Billion has been paid out to unemployed people in the state.
Local restaurateurs are having difficulties filling positions, a problem this executive order is looking to fix.
Heather Fullerton with Village Draft House in Raleigh says she can't get applicants to come back for interviews.
“We cant get any response from most people," Fullerton said. "We have a couple of people who fill out applications, they don’t stay long or they don’t come back at all.”
Not being able to hire has impacted seating at the Draft House.
“We can’t seat the back tables that we have, I don’t have enough staff to take on all of the tables that are in here right now,” she said.
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