1/ In the week ending 8/22, North Carolina received 12,880 initial claims for regular state #UnemploymentInsurance, down from 17,388 the week before. A year ago, the total number of initial claims was 2,877. #NCeconomy 2/ Additionally, North Carolina received 8,261 initial claims for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which covers certain workers normally ineligible for unemployment insurance. The figure a week earlier was 10,360. (NC began accepting PUA claims on 4/24.)

1/ In the week ending 8/15, North Carolina received 16,607 initial claims for regular state #UnemploymentInsurance, up from 14,328 the week before. A year ago, the total number of initial claims was 3,014. #NCeconomy 2/ Additionally, North Carolina received 10,360 initial claims for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which covers certain workers normally ineligible for unemployment insurance. The figure a week earlier was 8,620. (NC began accepting PUA claims on 4/24.)

1/ In the week ending 8/8, North Carolina received 13,635 initial claims for regular state #UnemploymentInsurance, down from 16,503 the week before. A year ago, the total number of initial claims was 3,158. #NCeconomy 2/ Additionally, North Carolina received 8,602 initial claims for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which covers certain workers normally ineligible for unemployment insurance. The figure a week earlier was 12,205. (NC began accepting PUA claims on 4/24.)

1/ In the week ending 8/1, North Carolina received 17,402 initial claims for regular state #UnemploymentInsurance, down from 26,402 the week before. A year ago, the total number of initial claims was 3,371. #NCeconomy 2/ Additionally, North Carolina received 12,205 initial claims for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which covers certain workers normally ineligible for unemployment insurance. The figure a week earlier was 18,790. (NC began accepting PUA claims on 4/24.)

1/ In the week ending 7/25, North Carolina received 26,141 initial claims for regular #UnemploymentInsurance, down from 29,204 the week before. A year ago, the total number of initial claims was 3,105. #NCeconomy 2/ Additionally, North Carolina received 18,790 initial claims for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which covers certain workers normally ineligible for unemployment insurance. The figure a week earlier was 19,821. (NC began accepting PUA claims on 4/24.)

1/ Shockingly, not a single complaint that @NCDOL has received about #COVID19 safety concerns in meatpacking plants has resulted in an inspection, reports @ncwatchdognet. Over 90% of complaints have been deemed invalid or closed after a desk review. wfae.org/post/covid-19-… 2/ Yet as of last week, meatpacking plants in North Carolina were the source of some 3,200 confirmed cases of #COVID19 that originated in 37 distinct clusters, according to data from @ncdhhs. covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard

1/ Rule of the day: before you claim that the supplemental $600/week #UnemploymentInsurance payment authorized by the #CARESAct made people reject job offers in favor of staying at home, please learn how state systems actually work. #ExtendUI 2/ In most states, including North Carolina, a UI claimant who is recalled to work & refuses to go back typically is disqualified from ANY further benefits. There are some good cause exceptions tied to #COVID19 , but they are narrow & require the claimant to make a case.

1/ A timely call from @NC_Governor on Congress to extend the $600/week supplement to #unemploymentinsurance authorized by the #CARESAct. In NC, this week currently is the last one for which the supplement is payable.

https://twitter.com/CbCeditorial/status/1286602602193530881

2/ According to @NCDES, some 800,000 people in North Carolina have received the $600/week supplement known as Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) since March 15. That is almost as many people as live in Charlotte, which is the state's most populous city.

1/ In the week ending 7/18, North Carolina received 26,323 initial claims for regular #UnemploymentInsurance, up from 28,108 the week before. A year ago, the total number of initial claims was 3,264. #NCeconomy 2/ Additionally, North Carolina received 19,821 initial claims for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which covers certain workers normally ineligible for unemployment insurance. The figure a week earlier was 20,563. (NC began accepting PUA claims on 4/24.)

1/ In the week ending 7/11, North Carolina received 26,861 initial claims for regular #UnemploymentInsurance, down from 27,937 the week before. A year ago, the total number of initial claims was 3,397. #NCeconomy 2/ Additionally, North Carolina received 20,563 initial claims for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which covers certain workers normally ineligible for unemployment insurance. The figure a week earlier was 23,606. (NC began accepting PUA claims on 4/24.)

I, too, have been amazed about how all the outrages about the PPP program have been directed toward the wrong elements of the program & not the actual things that should trigger outrage.

https://twitter.com/brycecovert/status/1283029351320231939

The program's purpose was to help eligible businesses retain workers on their payrolls, which is a superior long-term option to allowing folks to become unemployed. But people instead want to focus on "deserving" and "undeserving" firms based on their industrial preferences.

1/ In the week ending 7/4, North Carolina received 27,202 initial claims for regular #UnemploymentInsurance, down from 29,580 the week before. A year ago, the total number of initial claims was 2,679. #NCeconomy 2/ Additionally, North Carolina received 23,606 initial claims for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which covers certain workers normally ineligible for unemployment insurance. The figure a week earlier was 27,134. (NC began accepting PUA claims on 4/24.)

1/ New estimates from @BEA_News show that North Carolina's inflation-adjusted GDP dropped to $505.9 billion from $512.6 billion between 2019.q4 & 2020.q1. #NCeconomy bea.gov/data/gdp/gdp-s… 2/ As a reminder, GDP by state reflects the "market value of goods and services produced by the labor and property located in a state." GDP statistics provide the most comprehensive gauge of economic activity in a given location.

1/ Can't say how frustrated I am every time even good outlets like @WRAL & journalists like @cullenbrowder fail to note that North Carolina's #UnemploymentInsurance system is struggling due to 1) deliberate political choices & 2) systematic disinvestment. bit.ly/2O1JTBE 2/ The COVID-19 crisis has sparked an unprecedented number of claims in a short window, what with @NCCommerce reporting that it received 1.7m claims from 1.1m people between 3/15 & 7/2. Yet the system would have struggled to handle a claims volume similar to the 2008 recession.