In yet another sign of turmoil at the N.C. Division of Employment Security, officials announced this week the division overpaid more than $69 million in unemployment benefits last year. The pandemic causes a sharp spike in claims in 2020, with nearly a third of workers filing for unemployment. State and federal employment programs paid out more than $8 billion to North Carolinians last year. NCDES Assistant Secretary Pryor Gibson told the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Unemployment Insurance on Tuesday, Jan. 26, that a combination of more money passing through the system and additional programs resulted in the overpayments. For example, $45 million of the overpayments came from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a new federal program that provided the jobless with an additional $600 per week and included nontraditional claimants such as independent contractors.