Waiting 22 weeks on my first unemployment payment - first time posting

I applied for unemployment in Dallas 22 weeks ago and the status page still says pending. There are 18 people counting on me, so I am trying to be careful. The page shows my claim as open but no payment date. Is there a step I could have missed?

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