Unemployment claims marched higher in California last week, an indication that government efforts to gradually reopen closed business amid the coronavirus have failed to spark a now-feeble statewide economy.
Initial unemployment claims during the week that ended on Sept. 5 totaled 237,500 in California, up about 18,000 from the approximately 237,500 that filed unemployment claims in the week ending on Aug. 29.
California accounted for a jaw-dropping 27 percent of the unemployment claims filed in the entire country during the week that ended on Sept. 5 — even though the state has only 11 percent of the nation’s workforce.
The state’s elevated share of the jobless claims offers grim evidence that California now lags far behind the United States in its recovery from wide-ranging business shutdowns.
First-time jobless claims have now risen for three consecutive weeks in California, in sharp contrast to the overall pattern in the United States, which is showing a pattern of a steady decrease in unemployment filings.
Since mid-March, the onset of business shutdowns ordered by state and local governments to combat the coronavirus, 8.39 million California workers have filed initial claims for unemployment.
