An Analysis of Unemployment Insurance Claims in California During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis in March 2020 nearly 47% of the California workforce has filed for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits — a labor market crisis unprecedented in the state’s history. This series of policy briefs uses close to real-time information on daily initial UI claims in California from the state's Employment Development Department to better understand the magnitude of COVID-19’s labor market impacts and how different types of workers are experiencing these impacts. This research is based on a partnership between the Labor Market Information Division of the California Employment Development Department and the California Policy Lab, a research center at the University of California, with sites at the UCLA and Berkeley campuses.