North Carolina 9th-worst impacted in COVID-19 jobless claims

With 2.1 million more unemployment claims filed this week despite all U.S. states starting to reopen, WalletHub released updated rankings for the States Hit Most by Unemployment Claims, and North Carolina ranked poorly, coming in at 9th.

Since North Carolina is the 10 largest state by population, 9th would indicate it is doing slightly worse than it should for a state its size.

To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt the most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims during the latest week for which we have data (May 18) and overall since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (March 16). We used this data to rank the most impacted states for both periods. Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A. To see the states most impacted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.

Increase in North Carolina Unemployment Claims Due to Coronavirus (1=Worst, 25=Avg.):

• 1,167.85% Increase in Unemployment Claims (May 2020 vs May 2019)
  • 43,221 the week of May 18, 2020 vs 3,409 the week of May 20, 2019
  • 9th highest increase in the U.S.
• 1,132.07% Increase in the Number of Unemployment Claims (May 2020 vs January 2020)
  • 43,221 the week of May 18, 2020 vs 3,508 the week of January 1, 2020
  • 5th highest increase in the U.S.
• 3,243.18% Increase in Unemployment Claims Since Pandemic Started
  • 982,456 between the week of March 16, 2020 and the week of May 18, 2020 vs 30,293 between the week of March 18, 2019 and the week of May 20, 2019
  • 7th highest increase in the U.S.

As every state begins to reopen at least partially after months of keeping non-essential businesses closed, Americans hope to see the massive spike in unemployment start to reverse. More than 40 million Americans have found themselves temporarily or permanently out of a job since the week of March 16, which translates to a staggering 14.5% unemployment. Though the reopening of states will provide opportunities for some people to go back to work, businesses will open in stages rather than all at once, and many may not have the resources to hire as many people as they did previously.

Not all states have experienced the same levels of unemployment due to the pandemic. To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims during the latest week for which we have data (May 18) and overall since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (March 16). We used this data to rank the most impacted states for both periods. Read on for the results, additional commentary from a panel of experts and a full description of our methodology.

 

States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Claims Due to Coronavirus

Rank 1 = Most Affected.

Detailed Findings

*Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of May 18, 2020 compared to the week of May 20, 2019.
**Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of May 18, 2020 compared to the week of January 1, 2020.
***Refers to the increase in the Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims between the weeks of March 16, 2020 to May 18, 2020 compared to the weeks of March 18, 2019 to May 20, 2019.

 

 

Red vs. Blue States

 

 

 

Posted in Economy, Economy and Employment, Health, State news, WalletHub

WalletHub: NC 10th most populous state, 10th most jobless claims

WalletHub | North Carolina has the 10th biggest increase in unemployment claims due to COVID-19

With nearly 39 million Americans now jobless as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but many people actually making more money while unemployed, WalletHub released updated rankings for the States Hit Most by Unemployment Claims.

To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt the most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims. We used this data to rank the most impacted states in both the latest week for which we have data (May 11) and overall since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (March 16). Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.

Increase in North Carolina Unemployment Claims Due to Coronavirus (1=Worst, 25=Avg.):

• 1,257.77% Increase in Unemployment Claims (May 2020 vs May 2019)
  • 45,974 the week of May 11, 2020 vs 3,386 the week of May 13, 2019
  • 12th highest increase in the U.S.
• 1,210.55% Increase in the Number of Unemployment Claims (May 2020 vs January 2020)
  • 45,974 the week of May 11, 2020 vs 3,508 the week of January 1, 2020
  • 6th highest increase in the U.S.
• 3,490.17% Increase in Unemployment Claims Since Pandemic Started
  • 938,296 between the week of March 16, 2020 and the week of May 11, 2020 vs 26,884 between the week of March 18, 2019 and the week of May 13, 2019
  • 7th highest increase in the U.S.

 

States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Claims Due to Coronavirus

Rank 1 = Most Affected.

Detailed Findings

*Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of May 11, 2020 compared to the week of May 13, 2019.
**Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of May 11, 2020 compared to the week of January 1, 2020.
***Refers to the increase in the Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims between the weeks of March 16, 2020 to May 11, 2020 compared to the weeks of March 18, 2019 to May 13, 2019.

 

Coronavirus Job Losses vs. Great Recession

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, St. Louis Federal Reserve.

 

Red vs. Blue States

 

 

Posted in Economy, Economy and Employment, WalletHub

Downtown restaurants seek permission for more outdoor seating

Phase 2 of lifted COVID-19 restrictions would allow restaurants with outdoor seating, and the city is being asked to close parts of some downtown streets to make room for street cafe setups.

At its Tuesday, May 12 Zoom meeting, the Board of Aldermen will consider the request to temporarily close portions of Middle Street, Pollock Street, and Craven Street to Vehicular Traffic.

This resolution would permit closures of one side of the 200-300 blocks of Middle Street, 300 block of Pollock Street, and the 200 block of Craven Street from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. accommodating street cafes between May 22, and Aug. 1, 2020.

Lynne Harakal, Executive Director of Swiss Bear, has requested that downtown
restaurants be allowed to close to vehicular traffic a portion of specific streets for the purpose of allowing outdoor seating for restaurants.

This action is aimed at helping the restaurants recover from the closures and reduced revenues associated with COVID-19.

Ordinances will need to be amended to allow for street cafes.

In order to facilitate the request, Chapter 66 of the City’s Code.

Posted in Business, Downtown New Bern, Economy, Health, New Bern

New Bern chamber letter seeks easing of restrictions

The New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce is joining the county board of commissioners in asking Governor Roy Cooper to relax COVID-19-related restrictions on Craven County.

In a letter submitted to the New Bern Sun Journal, Chamber of Commerce leaders said the following:

As we are all well-aware, the COVID-19 pandemic is a serious public health crisis. Fortunately, the New Bern area responded strongly and appropriately when asked to do so in mid-late March.

Under direction from our leadership, New Bern residents have diligently shuttered their businesses, closed their schools, and practiced social distancing, all in the name of public health. Everyone accepted that these drastic measures were needed to stem the spread of the virus in our community.

For this, all of us should be thankful in knowing that we are flattening the curve and have hopefully avoided the worst of this pandemic.

Unfortunately, this has also put a great strain on our economic and mental well being. Over the past week, the New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce has solicited feedback from our members regarding the reopening of the area’s economy.

While members are ready to reopen, they also understand that to do so would require that they strictly enforce social distancing and, in some cases, limit the number of customers in their facilities. They understand that they will have to take on additional burdens of cleaning and sanitizing their facilities to avoid a resurgence of this virus. They firmly believe, given the right support, the economy and health of the New Bern area can be properly balanced, and we can move forward.

We applaud the Governor’s phased approach for a gradual reopening based on public health data. However, at the Chamber, we believe that the recovery process should be enacted on a county-by-county or regional basis and not in a one-sized-fits-all model.

Everyone understands that an area like New Bern is a completely different place than a densely populated urban area, such as Raleigh or Charlotte. Rural areas, such as rural eastern North Carolina, have been fortunate to have avoided the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic but are now being forced to suffer a dire economic fate that would last well beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Bern area residents and businesses have been resilient in their efforts to avoid the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials should now allow us to work just as hard to avoid the economic pitfalls that are certain to come with further shutdowns and restrictions on economic activity.

As we move into the Phases of re-opening, we are asking that Governor Cooper strongly consider this regional approach.

New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce, Lee C. Hodge, 2020 board chair and Kevin M. Roberts, president

Posted in Business, Community issues, Craven County, Economy, Economy and Employment, Health, New Bern

Federal Economic Impact Payments may require paperwork for some North Carolinians — and it’s due TODAY

The federal government is sending out a $1,200 Federal Economic Impact Payments (otherwise known as a federal stimulus payment) for a qualifying adult.

There is also an additional $500 stimulus payment available for each qualifying child under the age of 17.

While people who receive Social Security (SSI) will receive the full $1,200 stimulus payment automatically, those who didn’t file federal tax returns in 2018 or 2019 will need to use the IRS online tool to register to receive an additional $500 stimulus payment for each qualifying child.

People in that group can visit this website to receive the payment. 

For more information on whether some one needs to file the Non-Filers: Enter Payment form, click on the federal IRS tool here. The form must be completed by May 5 and there is no fee to file the form.

For those who filed taxes for 2018 and 2019, no action is required to receive the Federal Economic Impact Payment.

Posted in Economy, Economy and Employment, Health, New Bern, SBA, State news

(Most) local newspapers get slammed by COVID-19

The Pamlico News, the Oriental-based weekly newspaper that has covered local news since 1968, is temporarily shutting down due a severe slowdown in advertising revenue.

Businesses have stopped advertising, sapping the paper of operating funds, the paper said in a front-page article.

The article said the paper would return in three weeks.

Meanwhile, the County Compass continues to be chock full of advertising surrounding its stridently right-wing coverage of the pandemic.

In New Bern, the Sun Journal laid off it’s last sports reporter, Jordan Honeycutt, whose last day was Friday.

Honeycutt has been dividing his time between New Bern and Kinston, one person doing the job that once required required six reporters.

Gannet, which owns the Sun Journal, is the largest newspaper chain in the nation but has been struggling under the weight of COVID-19 impacts.

It has furloughed workers, cut executive pay, and now, on Friday, went through yet another round of layoffs.

The Sun Journal newsroom once housed nearly 20 journalists. Today, it limps along with six, with an editor it shares with several other newspapers.

Laying off Honeycutt is a staff reduction of 12.5 percent.

Newspapers have been struggling for some time, but COVID-19 has been particularly ravaging.

Posted in Business, Economy, Health, New Bern, News Media

North Carolina has the 4th biggest increase in unemployment due to COVID-19 – WalletHub Study

The U.S. unemployment rate is still on an upward trend, with roughly 30.3 million Americans now having lost their jobs since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, despite the fact that some states have already begun to selectively reopen businesses.

WalletHub released updated rankings for the States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to the Coronavirus as a follow-up to our report on the Cities with the Biggest Growth in Unemployment Due to COVID-19, along with accompanying videos.

To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims. We used this data to rank the most impacted states in both the latest week for which we have data (April 20) and overall since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (March 16). Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A. To see the states most impacted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.

Increase in North Carolina Unemployment Due to Coronavirus (1=Worst, 25=Avg.):

• 3,330.91% Increase in Unemployment Claims (April 2020 vs April 2019)
  • 97,232 the week of April 20, 2020 vs 2,834 the week of April 22, 2019
  • 6th highest increase in the U.S.
• 2,671.72% Increase in the Number of Unemployment Claims (April 2020 vs January 2020)
  • 97,232 the week of April 20, 2020 vs 3,508 the week of January 1, 2020
  • 4th highest increase in the U.S.
• 4,332.19% Increase in Unemployment Claims Since Pandemic Started
  • 747,303 between the week of March 16, 2020 and the week of April 20, 2020 vs 17,250 between the week of March 18, 2019 and the week of April 22, 2019
  • 6th highest increase in the U.S.

States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to COVID-19

Adam McCann, Financial Writer  •  Apr 30, 2020

 

States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to Coronavirus

Rank 1 = Most Affected.

Detailed Findings

*Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of April 20, 2020 compared to the week of April 22, 2019.
**Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of April 20, 2020 compared to the week of January 1, 2020.
***Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of March 16, 2020 to April 20, 2020 compared to the weeks of March 18, 2019 to April 22, 2019.

Coronavirus Job Losses vs. Great Recession

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, St. Louis Federal Reserve.

 

Red vs. Blue States

Posted in Economy, Economy and Employment, Health, WalletHub

NC among states with the biggest increases in unemployment due to COVID-19

 

 

 

Posted in Economy, Economy and Employment, Health

North Carolina economy among most affected by COVID-19

With 35 percent of small business owners saying their business cannot survive more than three months in current conditions, WalletHub released its report on the States with the Most Affected Small Businesses due to Coronavirus, along with accompanying videos.

To identify the states in which businesses are hit hardest by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. Our data set ranges from the share of small businesses operating in highly affected industries to small-business credit conditions and the state’s small-business friendliness. Below, you can see highlights from WalletHub’s report and a Q&A with WalletHub analysts.

COVID-19 Impact on Small Business in North Carolina (1=Most Affected, 25=Avg.):

• 21^st – Share of Small Businesses Operating in High-Risk Industries
• 24^th – Share of Small-Business Employees Operating in High-Risk Industries Among Total Small-Business Employees
• 14^th – Share of Consumer Expenditures Related to High-Risk Industries
• 26^th – Share of Businesses with E-commerce Sales Activity
• 28^th – Business Vitality
• 25^th – Small-Business Credit Conditions
• 4^th – Total Amount of Small-Business Loans per Small-Business Employee

 

States with the Most Affected Small Businesses due to COVID-19

 

 

To view the full report and your state’s rank, go here.

Posted in Business, Economy, Economy and Employment, Health

Gov. Cooper signs order to tighten social distancing measures, strengthen long-term care rules, and streamline unemployment benefits process

N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper took action to the address the spread of COVID-19 by issuing stronger social distancing requirements and speeding up the process to get benefits to people out of work through Executive Order No. 131.

Three key areas are addressed in Executive Order 131.

The first requires retail stores that are still operating to implement new social distancing policies to make shopping safer for customers and employees. 

The second makes earlier COVID-19 guidelines mandatory for nursing facilities, and recommends other long-term care facilities to do the same. 

The third area is unemployment benefits, issuing changes that will speed up certain benefit payments to those who are out of work.

POLICIES FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING IN RETAIL STORES

This Order offers clear requirements that essential businesses must implement in order to safeguard the health of customers and employees. Some of the directives include:

• Setting limits of how many people can be in a store at one time, 5 people per 1,000 square feet of retail space or 20% of fire marshal posted occupancy limits

• Marking 6 feet of distance for areas where people gather like checkout lines

• Requiring specific cleaning measures for retail stores

The Order encourages:

• Implementing hygiene recommendations for employees and customers, like hand sanitizer at the doors and face coverings for workers

• Establishing designated shopping times designated for high-risk groups

• Creating barriers between customers and employees at checkout to lower the risk of required interactions

Creating barriers between customers and employees at checkout to lower the risk of required interactions 

The Order states these requirements will last for 30 days unless extended by further executive action.

LOWERING RISK IN LONG TERM CARE FACILITIES

The Order sets public health and safety requirements for nursing homes during the public health emergency. The Order encourages other long-term care facilities to follow the same guidance. Some of the directives include:

• Canceling communal activities, including group meals

• Taking the temperature of employees and essential personnel when they enter the facility

• Requiring specific personal protective equipment in the facility

• Requiring close monitoring of residents for COVID-19 health indicators like body temperature

The Order states these requirements will last until this order is repealed.

STREAMLINING UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE CLAIMS

The Order makes it easier for employers to file a batch of claims, called an attached claim, on behalf of their employees. By temporarily eliminating some of the hurdles for employers, benefits can get in the hands of those who need them faster. 

The Order will extend 60 days beyond the date the state of emergency is lifted to allow employers to get back on their feet.

Additionally, the Department of Employment Services issued information on timing of federal benefits reaching North Carolinians today. 

Posted in Business, Economy, Economy and Employment, Health, New Bern