Economy

More than 7.6 million Californians have filed for unemployment benefits since the pandemic triggered a recession. Navigating the assistance program has been filled with frustration.

Projects that tackle vehicles, pollution in low-income communities, prescribed burns and even cows have lost 14% of their original budgets because of cap and trade shortfall.

Today’s ruling gives counties the right to prevent “abuse of the pension system,” but stops short of ending a half-century of precedent. “It’s probably great news for pension lawyers.”

California’s constitution requires a balanced budget, leaving the state few options to stimulate the economy or help people without jobs. Democrats, however, have found a loophole: "borrowing" federal dollars to continue benefits for the state's unemployed.

The new program, which will rely mostly on federal money, will provide hotel rooms for agricultural workers who test positive or were exposed to the coronavirus so they can safely isolate.

In an event co-hosted by CalMatters and the Milken Institute, policymakers and advocates explain where they see the state heading — and why California desperately needs to bridge its digital divide.

The pandemic has left millions of Californians without jobs, food or money for next month's rent. Meanwhile, the state's many billionaires got richer.

Forget the notion of a V-shaped recovery. Unemployment leveled off around 16% in May, but a retreat to isolation and the end of some relief funds could lengthen the state’s economic recovery — and deepen inequality.

Once a rarity, state takeovers of on-the-edge nursing homes are expected to become more common as the pandemic tips facilities further into chaos.

Hotel and travel businesses will have to rehire by seniority. Oakland is the latest city to pass a "right to recall" ordinance, following San Francisco and Los Angeles.