NC saw 42,000 unemployment claims in four days

Those numbers cover Monday through 8 a.m. Friday, DES spokesman Larry Parker said in an email. The system typically logs a little more than 3,000 of these requests in a week, based on 2019 numbers.

North Carolina's unemployment system is groaning under the surge of jobless claims, which saw some 18,000 claims in just a few days this week.

That's what the system would normally see over six weeks.

Those laid off from restaurants and other businesses struggling to stay open – or shutting down voluntarily – during the coronavirus outbreak report long wait times, disconnects and garbled recorded messages on the state's unemployment filing hotline, and repeated site crashes on the online filing system.

"We have our staffing levels set for 3,000 claims a week," Assistant Secretary for Employment Security Lockhart Taylor said Thursday, during an early afternoon press briefing alongside Gov. Roy Cooper and other state officials.

"So, we are ramping that up," Taylor said. "We have all hands on deck at this point."

The state asks filers to start at the website, des.nc.gov. The phone number is 888-737-0259.

A spokesman said the Division of Employment Security beefed up its computer servers Wednesday night, but filers contacted WRAL News Thursday, saying they were still having problems at lunch time.

"I also tried many times yesterday," said Ashley Clark, a laid-off bartender in Raleigh. "I made it through to the very last submit button, and it's been giving me an error just constantly."

“I’ve tried on the phone for a whole day, and (my wife's) been on the computer. We just couldn’t get through," said George Hendrickson, a jobs coach for a special-needs program that has suspended operations for at least a month.

The Division of Employment Security posted 50 new jobs Thursday morning to increase its staff, Taylor said. It's also shifting personnel into its call center and will likely use the state's temporary staffing company to bring in more people, he said. Taylor said the division is also looking for ways its employees can work from home.

Cooper promised his administration is focused on the issue.

"Every single application is important," he said. "We realize that the system could not take all that came, but they are working on making sure people can do it over the phone and online."

"We will work extra hours," Taylor said. "We will work weekends."

Daily numbers on filings aren't yet available from the division, which is part of the state Commerce Department, but the division said 18,000 claims came in between Tuesday around noon, when "COVID-19" first became an option filers could select, and Thursday at 10 a.m.

Division spokesman Larry Parker had said Wednesday that, as of 7 a.m. that morning, the system had completed 4,721 claims related to COVID-19.

Employees and employers can both list the virus as a reason for the layoff, which will expedite things, Taylor said. By law, employers get 10 days to respond before a filing is finalized, he said.

Unemployment payments in North Carolina are available between five and 20 weeks, depending on the unemployment rate at the time. The payout is calculated by dividing total wages from the past six months by 52, and the maximum payout is $350 a week.

The state's weekly benefits rank 41st in the country and fourth in the Southeast, and the average duration of benefits ranks 49th in the country. Advocates have long said the state needs to improve these benefits, and they've stepped up those calls this week.

Cooper said that's possible, but he wants to see what's coming from the federal government before calling on the General Assembly for changes. He said the state needs to make sure it has matching money on hand for the coming federal programs first, then "fill the holes" left by stimulus plans moving through Congress now, or plans that are soon to come.

The state's unemployment trust fund has about $3.9 billion in it now. Republicans in the majority at the General Assembly built that balance up, in part, by cutting benefits, starting in 2013. At the time, the system had a $2.5 billion-plus deficit leftover from the recession.

Cooper said Thursday that the fund balance is enough to last three months.

Other financial help is likely on its way from the federal government, potentially including $1,000 checks cut to citizens throughout the country. The state response will follow, and House Speaker Tim Moore said Wednesday he's establishing legislative working groups to come up with ideas.

Cooper said he's talking to legislative leaders, "and everybody is rowing in the same direction here."

The state's budget surplus has since grown substantially.

Cooper was asked Thursday about the prospect of delaying sales tax and payroll tax payments due from businesses, and he indicated discussions are underway, but nothing's set,

"Everything, I would say right now, is on the table," Cooper said.

Cooper's Secretary of Revenue announced later in the day that he would waive penalties for late payments as long as personal income and business taxes are paid by July 15. By law, the secretary cannot waive interest charges, though.

The IRS has extended payment deadlines, which the state is largely mirroring, but it has not extended the April 15 filing deadline. More extensions and changes may be forthcoming, though.

State economist Barry Boardman said Thursday that he couldn't predict how many unemployment claims to expect due to COVID-19, but the leisure and hospitality industry represented some 12 percent of industry employment in North Carolina in January.