California’s unemployment claims remain far above what was typical before the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Department of Labor figures reported Thursday.
The department’s data show that new unemployment filings in the state rose again last week. For the week ending in May 29, 74,625 new claims were filed compared to the previous week’s 71,055 claims. That is an increase of 3,570.
The rise in new unemployment claims follows a recovery period in February when the state regained many jobs lost during COVID-19. At that time, the unemployment rate was at its lowest level since the pandemic began: 8.5 percent.
According to former Director of the California Employment Development Department Michael Bernick, job recovery will take time.
“People are reconsidering whether they want to go back into jobs, whether they want to go into different jobs," said Bernick. "We still have over 2 million Californians on unemployment insurance and ongoing fears, real or imagined, of COVID.”
Lynn Reaser, an economist at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, told the LA Times that the state’s job market “still has a steep hill to climb” to return to the pre-pandemic, high employment of 2020. Even with the decline, February’s unemployment rate was still almost double the 4.3 percent rate of February 2020.
Marin County has the lowest rate of unemployment according to California’s Employment Development Department. In April 2021, the most recent available data, unemployment in Marin was at 4.6 percent. Statewide, the rate hovered around 8 percent.
Earlier this year, California Labor Secretary Julie Su told reporters in a conference call that over $11 billion paid in unemployment benefits from California were fraudulent claims. She pointed to overseas criminals and identity thieves as among the main perpetrators.
Nationwide, the number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, were 425,450 for the week ending in May 29, which was an increase of 1.4 percent from the previous week.
Despite the slight increase in claims, most economists expect job growth to increase thanks to the trillions of government aid and higher vaccination rates.