My first unemployment payment still has not arrived - 16 weeks in

I applied for unemployment in Birmingham 16 weeks ago and the status page still says pending. There are 5 people counting on me, so I am trying to be careful. I called the state line four times and only reached a recording. What would you check first?

Keep everything in writing and save the confirmation numbers. It made the follow-up calls so much easier.

Mine took about 16 weeks because of an identity check I did not notice. Look for a message or a letter you may have missed in your online account.