It’s time to get back to work.
Whether it’s remote or in the office, the California Employment Development Department has reinstated its work search requirement once again, meaning that jobless people have to actively prove they’re looking for work in order to receive benefits.
The EDD suspended its work search requirement last March in response to the pandemic.
“With businesses across California reopening, jobs are available,” Grecia Staton, an EDD deputy director, said in a media call Thursday, as reported by The San Francisco Chronicle. “With this in mind, beginning July 11, 2021, Californians who receive unemployment benefits are expected to look for work to maintain their eligibility.”
Luckily, there’s an increase in job postings to choose from. Postings on the website Indeed dot com are 26% higher than pre-pandemic levels, said Jed Kolko, chief economist at job-posting site Indeed, according to the Chronicle. “Employers in California and elsewhere are eager to hire, across most sectors,” he said.
However, it seems it will take California’s formerly robust small business economy a bit longer to recover, according to Michael Bernick, research director for the California Workforce Association.
“Small business numbers in California remain dismal,” said Bernick. “Small business openings remain down by 40% since the start of the pandemic. And small business revenue is down 30%.”
“We’ve had a pick up in terms of employment, but small business remains very limited,” he said.
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