(RALEIGH) -- The man in charge of the state's unemployment insurance system says major reforms approved by the General Assembly are making a difference. Dale Folwell, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Employment Security says they have made an effort to make sure those filing for claims have a face to face meeting at a Division of Employment Security office.

"Only about 65 percent of the people are coming in for that scheduled interview. If they don't come in for that interview, your benefits get cut off that Sunday night. And of the people who do not come in, we've done surveys of those individuals, about 60 percent of them did not show up for their appointment because they found a job," Folwell said.

Folwell said the state will also completely pay off a debt to the federal government for benefits paid during the recession by May. He adds that the debt was once more than $2.8 billion.