What you need to know if you’ve been on unemployment for one year

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Many people who have been receiving unemployment benefits for a year are finding out the hard way that they have to reapply if they want to continue getting assistance.

Like many across the country, Karen Webster applied for unemployment when the pandemic started. She recently hit the one-year mark and was required to file a new claim.

“It’s extremely daunting. You feel very defeated,” Webster told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke.

“This one-year anniversary and the cascade of events that happens when you reapply, and all of the same hoops that you have to go through again, you feel like you’ve seen it all after a year, and then here comes this,” she said.

Officials with the North Carolina Division of Employment Security said the agency requires this to make sure someone is still eligible and to recalculate how much they’re entitled to. Officials told Stoogenke the agency is notifying people about the one-year requirement but some, such as Webster, said they did not know.

Representatives with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce said if someone reapplies successfully, they’ll continue to receive the additional $300 in federal money through September. There is no separate requirement needed for that benefit.

What you should know about unemployment benefits:

• Start dates are determined by the date a valid claim is filed, not the date benefits start.
• All states require that you file a new claim after one year.
• Applicants will be prompted to file a new claim through their online account.
• Applicants need to certify their claim each week in order to receive payments.

New executive order requires weekly certification for NC unemployment benefits

Cox Media Group