Waiting 11 weeks on my first unemployment payment - 11 weeks in

I applied for unemployment in Birmingham 11 weeks ago and the status page still says pending. There are 9 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?

When I finally got through, the agent said my employer had responded late. Once that cleared, back pay came in one payment.