Currently, the jobless in North Carolina can only receive up to 12 weeks of state unemployment benefits, among the skimpiest in the nation. (Applicants must first exhaust their state unemployment benefits.) Plus, disaster jobless benefits are available to many types of workers who don’t qualify for state unemployment insurance, such as gig workers, farmers and the self-employed. Still, it can be difficult for the newly jobless to secure either state or disaster unemployment benefits, particularly those whose homes and businesses have been heavily damaged or destroyed by storms. It took Miranda Escalante five days to apply for unemployment assistance.

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Persons: Jen Hampton, Helene, Asheville’s, Hampton, we’re, ”, “ We’re, ” Michele Evermore, Roy Cooper, Miranda Escalante, Hurricane Helene, Escalante, Alex Smith, we’ll, ” Escalante, Evermore, — Asheville’s, “ Organizations: CNN, Asheville Food, Beverage United, “, Unemployment, The Century Foundation, state’s, Employment Security, Gov, Emergency Management Agency, Center, Budget, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Asheville Locations: North Carolina, ”, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina’s, Asheville