NC gets waiver to avoid more federal unemployment insurance taxes for employers due to debt

North Carolina businesses won't have to pay even higher unemployment insurance taxes beyond what's required while the state still owes the federal government money to pay jobless benefits during the Great Recession.

The U.S. Department of Labor told Gov. Pat McCrory this week a waiver has been granted to the state that McCrory's office says will cumulatively save North Carolina businesses $180 million. State unemployment insurance agency chief Dale Folwell said it otherwise would have equated to an additional $55 to $65 that employers would have had to pay for each employee on 2014 tax returns.

Employer taxes are still going up another $21 per worker starting in January because of the debt but Folwell says businesses can recoup that when the loan is paid off, probably this spring.