It's not a joke; these are real blues musicians, some of them (Joe Louis Walker, Donald Kinsey, David Honeyboy Edwards, Otis Clay, Pinetop Perkins) quite well known. And yes, the blues has often had to struggle and compromise to reach a wider audience.
At its peak, the program offered up to 99 weeks of coverage. It's been scaled down gradually ever since. Two states with high unemployment, Illinois and Nevada, had offered 73 weeks of benefits. California had offered 63 weeks, and most others offered 43 to 63 weeks.
Amount and Duration of Unemployment Benefits in North Carolina. The DES determines your weekly benefit amount by adding your wages earned in the last two quarters of the base period and dividing that number by 52, up to a maximum benefit of $350 per week. Benefits are available for up to 20 weeks. For an estimate of your potential weekly benefits, use the DES Estimate of Unemployment Insurance Benefits Calculator. How to File a Claim for Unemployment Benefits in North Carolina. You may file your claim for unemployment benefits online, by phone, by fax, or by mail.