Unemployment

Good morning, California. It’s Monday, March 29. Businesses to shoulder costs California’s unemployment rate fell to a pandemic low of 8.5% in February, the Employment Development Department announced Friday — even as its jobless benefits fund sank deeper into the red, imperiling economic recovery. The Golden State recovered nearly 91% of the jobs it lost […]

The state went deep into debt to keep jobless benefits flowing during the pandemic. And if it doesn’t fix its $48 billion unemployment problem, that could derail COVID-19 recovery.

The federal coronavirus relief package gives a $26 billion windfall to California. Business groups, doctors and activists all want their share.

Tech glitches have struck California’s beleaguered unemployment department once again. The Employment Development Department’s website was unable to process claimants’ information over the weekend and was still plagued with difficulties Monday. “Some customers are experiencing issues using these services,” a pop-up on EDD’s benefits registration webpage read Monday. “We’re working to restore service as soon […]

Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, March 18. Surge in anti-Asian hate Pressure is mounting on Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint an Asian American or Pacific Islander attorney general amid a surge in anti-Asian harassment and violence, including Tuesday shootings in Atlanta in which a man killed eight people, six of whom were women of Asian […]

On March 19, 2020 Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide shelter-in-place order. In response to an unprecedented public health threat, it was an equally unprecedented shuttering of day-to-day life. “This is not a permanent state,” Newsom assured us at the time. “This is a moment in time. And we will meet this moment together.” On […]

Today, millions of Californians will become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, inundating a system already straining under the weight of limited supply, pervasive tech glitches, political infighting and general confusion. Originally, only Californians with disabilities and severe health conditions were set to become eligible for the vaccine today. But the state on Thursday expanded prioritization […]

Providing independent contractors access to labor protections and benefits would help businesses comply with labor laws and spread costs more evenly.

As California's governor delivered his annual address — this time from Dodger Stadium — the CalMatters reporting team offered the following corrections, clarifications and context.

The latest CalMatters video offers a quick explanation of how California’s unemployment system went awry while struggling to confront unprecedented demand. As the pandemic left millions of Californians unemployed, prosecutors say scammers found many ways to defraud the state. The confusion derailed the unemployment system and left many people out of work to fend for […]