N.C. weekly jobless claims drop slightly Weekly unemployment claims dip slightly in North Carolina

North Carolina had a slight drop in initial unemployment-insurance claims last week following a 50% decline in the immediate aftermath of two key federal pandemic relief programs expiring Sept. 4.

With no COVID-19 pandemic UI programs available currently for North Carolinians, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday the state had 3,767 new regular state claims for the week that ended Oct 2.

There were 3,920 claims for the week that ended Sept. 25 and 7,110 claims for the week that ended Sept. 18 that included 3,610 regular state claims.

The state was 19th in the nation in the number of unemployment filings, up one spot from last week.

North Carolinians determined currently to be eligible for regular state UI benefits can draw up to 13 weeks - the lowest level offered by any state - that provide a maximum weekly benefit of $350, although the average claimant receives about $235.

By comparison, the state's highest weekly total for claims related to the pandemic was 172,745 for the week that ended March 28, 2020.

As of Sept. 5, nearly 178,000 jobless North Carolinians no longer had $300 in weekly federal benefits to rely on to pay their bills or feed their household.

U.S. Labor listed 31,161 North Carolinians drawing regular state benefits as of Sept. 25.

Once the 13 regular state benefit weeks run out, N.C. claimants have to wait another 39 weeks before they can file again.

The $300 per week extended federal UI payments kept some potential employees on the sidelines since they made more from not working than in a minimum- to low-wage job.

Economists say the September state and county-level jobless reports should provide insight into whether the expiration of the two federal programs will produce an increase in hiring and individuals re-entering the workforce.

"One thing to remember is that although all of the enhanced federal benefits expired, that expiration is for benefit weeks starting after the week ending on Sept. 4," said John Quinterno, principal with South by North Strategies Ltd., a Chapel Hill research company specializing in economic and social policy.

"People with eligible claims for prior weeks still are eligible for benefits for those weeks.

"That might include people who lost a job at the very end of August, or those with prior claims that are pending or under administrative review for some reason," Quinterno said.

The details

The extended federal programs included: pandemic emergency unemployment compensation (PEUC); pandemic unemployment assistance (PUA); federal pandemic unemployment compensation (FPUC); and mixed earners unemployment compensation (MEUC).

As of Sept. 7, North Carolina had received $13.27 billion, with regular state benefits of $2.03 billion, while federal and state extended benefits are at $11.24 billion.

By far the biggest factor in UI benefit payments has been the FPUC program at $7.31 billion. That represents about 55% of all UI benefit payments.

Also as of Sept. 7, there have been 1.54 million individual claims filed in North Carolina during the pandemic, with DES determining that just more than 1 million claimants have been eligible for state or federal UI benefits.

Federal guidelines require a separate application for each unemployment program.

Overall, there had been at least 3.83 million state and federal claims filed as of Sept. 7.

Nationally

National UI claims dropped by 38,000 to 326,000 for the week that ended Oct. 2.

The 312,000 claims for the week of Sept. 4 represented the lowest weekly claims count for the pandemic.

There were 4.17 million individuals nationwide with an active claim as of Sept. 18, down 17.1% from Sept. 11 and down 63% from 11.25 million as of Sept. 4.

About 2.89 million workers drew state benefits and 1.28 million received federal benefits, mostly extended benefits that have ended for North Carolinians.

Mark Hamrick, chief economist analyst for Bankrate.com, said Thursday that "the expected path forward for the job market and the broader economy is considered to be fairly upbeat."

"Still, a higher-than-normal degree of uncertainty remains.

"Some time ago, it was thought that the reopening of the economy might have been roaring by now. But supply chain challenges and the Delta variant provided new plot twists, which slowed the recovery."

Gus Faucher, chief economist with PNC Financial Services Group, said Thursday that the national labor market "is in a state of transition in the fall, with various headwinds and tailwinds."

"Businesses are looking to hire amid rising demand for all sorts of goods and services, but are reporting labor shortages from the ongoing pandemic and concern about catching the coronavirus, childcare and schooling issues for working parents, and recession-induced early retirements."

Faucher said "there is little evidence of stronger labor force and job growth in the states that ended their (federal pandemic relief) participation early."

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