Waiting 25 weeks on my first unemployment payment - first time posting

I was laid off as an IT help-desk technician and filed right away, and I have been certifying every week. The page shows my claim as open but no payment date. Is there a step I could have missed?

Mine took about 25 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.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.