NC Unemployment

A General Assembly staff economist wrote last week that state employment had returned to pre-pandemic levels last summer and had exceeded them.

Experts say this is a knock-on effect of business shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees shifted to a work-from-home model that didn't require them to be in major metros.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point last month to 3.5 percent.

North Carolina's unemployment rate fell for the eighth consecutive month in May, the state Department of Commerce announced on Wednesday.

The North Carolina House has OK'd legislation to do away with the $300-per-week supplemental benefits for the unemployed provided by the federal government during the pandemic. The Republican measure approved on Thursday would take away the additional payments to roughly 245,000 people in North Carolina. The program is set to expire nationwide in early September, but about two dozen states already have decided to cut off the supplement early. GOP legislators say the additional aid is a disincentive for working, making it tough for employers to fill vacancies. Democrats say eliminating the benefits would harm people still struggling to cover their expenses.

Restaurants across the Carolinas are struggling to find workers even as demand is rebounding from a pandemic slowdown. That’s despite many restaurants raising pay and even offering signing bonuses

In 2013, North Carolina’s legislature voted to cut unemployment benefits, shortening the number of eligibility weeks and capping the amount of funds…

In 2013, North Carolina’s legislature voted to cut unemployment benefits, shortening the number of eligibility weeks and capping the amount of funds…

This story was originally published by ProPublica.ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to…

Red-tipped hair swept to the side, Shana Tucker bites her lower lip before looking back at the camera. “I learned today that someone that I grew up with…