Waiting 23 weeks on my first unemployment payment, medical assistant here

I applied for unemployment in Knoxville 23 weeks ago and the status page still says pending. This is my first time dealing with any of this. I called the state line four times and only reached a recording. Has anyone been through this? How long did it take in the end?

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