Newly jobless frustrated by difficulty in filing for unemployment benefits
Almost 300,000 people have filed for unemployment benefits in North Carolina in the last two weeks, and the crush is causing long wait times on the phone and online - and plenty of frustration.
Posted — UpdatedFiling for unemployment is usually a pretty easy process in North Carolina, but it has been anything but easy for those who have tried over the last couple of weeks.
White used to work in a middle school cafeteria. She's been unemployed before, collecting benefits with no problems, but the single mother now wonders how she can pay her rent in the coming months.
"You don't know if you can get your bills or whatever because you don't have no income at all. So you have to have some other resource," she said.
The state is used to processing 3,000 claims a week, but with the coronavirus-related shutdowns of many businesses, the Division of Employment Security is getting about 20,000 per day.
"I've been calling the number they have for support, and it's an automated message after the first two-and-a-half minutes," Bradham said. "It says they are at a high call volume and to try again later, and then it disconnects you."
The state is hiring 50 more people to handle unemployment claims, and officials ask people filing for benefits to be patient as they work through the surge.
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