In spite of the fact that many unemployed North Carolinians are struggling to find work and make ends meet, the Republicans have reduced the options that the unemployed have available to them.

  1. Unemployment benefits have been cut significantly.  When one becomes unemployed, he is entitled to unemployment benefits.  The Republican leaders reduced the maximum benefit amount from $535 a week to $350 a week, and the maximum length of benefits was reduced from 26 weeks to 20 weeks.  The reduction in benefits violated federal law, and forced the state to terminate its participation in the federal emergency unemployment compensation program.  Thus the Republican leaders caused North Carolina to become the only state in the nation to have its residents to be disqualified from receiving federally funded Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits for the long-term unemployed.  These funds are available to unemployed workers after the state’s period of unemployment runs out. This program is available to the long term unemployed in all states as long as state average weekly benefits are not cut.  The U.S. Labor Department indicated that since the North Carolina Republican leaders cut average weekly benefits for its unemployed workers, about 170,000 North Carolinians whose state benefits expired lost more than $700 million in the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation payments.
    This loss in benefits dealt a devastating blow to thousands of North Carolina individuals and families who were already struggling to make ends meet in a tough economic climate.  Of course, tax dollars of North Carolinians still pay for the unemployment benefits of recipients in other states.
  2. Republican leaders in Congress ended unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed in December, 2013.  The Senate recently voted 59-38  to resurrect those benefits.  Senator Richard Burr, a Republican leader from North Carolina, voted against the bill.  In the House, where Republican leaders are in control, the bill was not passed.  Thus, the 2.7 million jobless workers are still being denied assistance.

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