The state unemployment office doesn't have a start date yet for the $50-a-week boost North Carolina lawmakers added last week to unemployment benefits.
"We are beginning the process of reprograming our system," Division of Employment Security spokeswoman Kerry McComber said Thursday. "It’s somewhat complicated.”
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The General Assembly passed a wide-ranging coronavirus bill last week, and Gov. Roy Cooper signed it into law late Friday. That bill included the $50-a-week benefits bump, payable for every week this year from Sept. 5 to Dec. 26.
Payments will be made retroactively as needed, McComber said. DES officials are seeking more details about how to implement the change and have both accounting and eligibility questions, she said.
“It’s pretty technical stuff, but there are things that we need to know," she said.
This boost is for the state portion of unemployment benefits. A federal boost, of $300 a week, has largely been paid out in North Carolina, McComber said Thursday. That federal program guaranteed enough money to pay the increase for only three weeks, all of which have passed. It's possible another week, or weeks, will be added.
McComber said to expect news on that program soon.
Congress has discussed a longer-term federal boost, but those talks have not gone on for weeks now with limited movement.