Unemployment Applications Surge As Stay-At-Home Order Continues
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — More than a million California residents have now filed for unemployment and that number continues to grow.
On Monday, California had a record 150,000 people filing for unemployment insurance, so now well over 1.6 million residents are looking for assistance.
We crunched some numbers here at CBS13 and found that would mean California now has an unemployment rate of more than 8%. We haven't seen numbers like that since late in the recession.
As unemployment claims are approved, residents can expect up to $600 more per week in addition to their California benefits, after the federally approved CARES act signed last week.
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"So we all recognize we're going to have to do more to meet this moment for employees and employers, and process this moment. Get through it and then get this economy back and growing as it was just a few months ago," Governor Newsom said in a press conference Tuesday.
For those self-employed, the state had launched the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, which is big news for those like app drivers, salon workers, and anyone who works for themselves.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: Unemployment Help for the Self-Employed