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North Carolina has become that latest state to reduce the term of residents? eligibility for unemployment benefits, citing a need to pay back a loan it took from the federal government during the recession. Six other states have recently scaled back eligibility to a term of 19 to 20 weeks. In the last two decades, no state?s program has ran shorter than 26 weeks. While the downsizing has been met with protest by concerned residents, similar efforts made in Florida, Colorado, and Michigan have helped cash-strapped states pay down their debts.