Earlier this month, the UCLA California Policy Lab released their sixth policy brief which focuses on close to real-time information on daily initial unemployment insurance (UI) claims. The latest policy brief, “An Analysis of Unemployment Insurance Claims in California During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” focuses on the increasing number of workers who are returning to work and seeing their unemployment claims either reduced or denied altogether as a result.
Key Research Findings:
1. More than Half of Recent Unemployment Claims are from Californians who are RE-Opening their Claims.
2. The Number and share of additional claimants varies significantly by industry.
3. Nearly one-third of California workers have filed for UI benefits since the start of the COVID-19 crisis in mid-March.
4. For the week ending July 11th, 3.28 million claimants, or about 17% of the CA labor force, were paid unemployment insurance benefits.
5. The share of paid UI claimants receiving partial benefits (due to reporting some work earnings) has risen substantially since early May.
6. As illustrated in our Data Point, without the $600 per week additional benefits from FPUC, half of all individuals received payments below the Federal Poverty Level.
7. In the week ending July 25th, only 63% of new initial claimants reported they expect to be recalled. The gap in recall expectations between Black claimants and others’ which was seen earlier in the crisis appears to have narrowed in recent weeks.
To read the press release, click HERE.
To read the full report, click HERE.
