Increase of unemployment insurance claims

California's increase of unemployment insurance claims is absolutely staggering

By Eric Ting

As California continues its statewide shelter-in-place order in response to the spread of coronavirus, California governor Gavin Newsom stated that the daily number of unemployment insurance claims in the state has skyrocketed dramatically.

During a press conference Monday night, Newsom reported that the daily average of claims over the last seven days is 106,000. The normal average per day is just 2,500, meaning the number of jobless claims has increased by over 4,000%. The governor called for block grants from the federal government to help the state pay for benefits.

"It is critical that the states get these block grants, that states have the capacity to meet this moment without exhausting their unemployment insurance funds," he said.

A recent report from the state Legislative Analyst’s Office indicated that unemployed workers will likely have to wait more than the usual 21 days before receiving benefits, due to the fact that the system is currently being flooded with new jobless claims.

"Given the extraordinary number of applications received recently, as well as the expectation that claims will continue to increase over the coming weeks, the Legislature should anticipate that first benefit payments will take much longer than 21 days," the report states. "Similar delays occurred during the Great Recession."