North Carolina has enacted a new law imposing major cuts to aid for the unemployed. Jobless benefits will be slashed by nearly one-third, and recipients will have less time to collect them. In addition to gutting state benefits, the bill also rejects millions of dollars in additional federal aid. North Carolina currently has the nation’s fifth-highest official unemployment rate, at 9.2 percent. The measure takes effect on July 1. In a statement, the North Carolina Justice Center denounced Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and state lawmakers, saying: “Hundreds of thousands of jobless workers thrown out of work through no fault of their own will face deepening poverty as a result of this decision.”