RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina State Auditor Beth Wood has quantified the unemployment benefits that failed to reach displaced workers quickly during a period that included hard times for the economy during the COVID-19 recession.
A performance audit released Monday says the Division of Employment Security failed to distribute $438 million in initial claims during 2020 and the first quarter in 2021 within a 14- or 21-day window considered to be timely.
That equated to a 60% success rate for the 3.6 million claims filed during that period.
The audit in part blamed the claims process and poor monitoring for the delays.
