U.S. jobless claims fell for a third straight week, evidence that employers are laying off fewer people as they struggle to fill a record number of open jobs and meet a rise in consumer demand. Jobless claims fell by 12,000, to 375,000 from 387,000. Before the pandemic, jobless claims were typically around 220,000 per week.
A total of about 12 million people are receiving unemployment benefits, down from 13 million only the week prior. That drop indicates that more Americans are getting jobs and no longer receiving unemployment benefits. Another factor is that several states have canceled the federal program in which self-employed people could apply for unemployment benefits, as well as a separate program for the long-term unemployed (defined as those who have been searching for a job for 27 weeks or longer).
By contrast, last week unemployment claims in California rose to the highest level in three months. Californian workers filed 68,556 initial claims for unemployment, up from 62,209 from the week before. This was the highest number of new claims since late May. The set-back surprised some experts who had predicted a quicker recovery for California. One factor may be that schools are starting to open up and there is concern about what may happen with new cases, especially as there is still a severe lack of childcare that keeps people home to care for their children.
Californians receiving unemployment benefits, including those on PUA, are required to look for work to maintain their eligibility. However, there is some flexibility. Californians receiving PUA or unemployment may not have to look for jobs in order to receive payments if they need to care for a child and their school or childcare center is closed as a direct result of the COVID public health emergency and they have explored all reasonable alternatives for finding childcare, or if they have been laid off due to a seasonal shutdown or a trade dispute. REALTORS® who are self-employed or independent contractors can be counted as looking for work if they include activities to resume or rebuild their business, find new clients, engage in marketing efforts, or obtain independent contracting work. EDD strongly urges PUA recipients to keep a detailed record of their work search efforts.
On September 4, 2021, the following federally-funded unemployment programs will end: the federal increase of $300 per week for all unemployment benefits; the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program; and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program. An estimated 2 million Californians will lose benefits, which can be as much as $750 a week.
Sources: AP, Mercury News, the Sacramento Bee, EDD
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