Unemployment benefits are cut off — but thousands of Californians could see extra payments
An estimated 340,000 Californians could get an extra week of unemployment payments for the week that ends Saturday.
Most federal unemployment aid programs created during the COVID-19 pandemic ended last week, and an estimated 2.2 million Californians were to see those benefits cut off.
But there’s an exception.
Thousands who were getting Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, an extended benefit program that ended last week, could be transferred over to another program for one week only, Employment Development Department spokeswoman Loree Levy said.
The state’s Employment Development Department is using the Federal-State Extended Duration Benefits Program, which ends Saturday, to provide whatever amount a claimant was getting from their regular unemployment payment or federal extension benefit. The maximum weekly benefit is now $450.
EDD is automatically moving those claimants who have yet to collect FED-ED benefits and meet qualifications to one week of FED-ED benefits before they expire, she said.
Those claimants still have to certify they were unemployed and actively looking for work, or satisfying one of the other job search requirements, to get a benefit this week.
FED-ED is separate from the COVID-19 programs, and its requirements are more strict than the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program. FED-ED is a benefit of last resort, providing payments to those who have exhausted their regular unemployment benefits and their available Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation extension benefits.
Washington had been providing funding for 20 weeks of FED-ED benefits as long as California’s unemployment rate topped 8% and met other requirements.
Last month, the maximum was cut to 13 weeks as the rate had dropped to 7.6% in July. With the 100% federal funding now expiring, the FED-ED extension will no longer be available after September 11.
COVID unemployment benefits end
The FED-ED program is designed to support people unemployed for long period of time during economic downturns. It’s been particularly helpful to people of color and lower education levels according to a March report, from the nonpartisan California Policy Lab.
Its study found that 35% of the state’s program recipients were Hispanic, 31.8% white, 15.2% Asian and 8.8% Black. And almost two-thirds had a high school education or less.
Starting next week, none of the COVID-19 or emergency programs will be available, although weeks of unemployment that occurred prior to the expiration of the federal programs can still be paid if someone is later found eligible for that time period.
Levy said EDD usually helps refer the claimants to different job finding programs in local America’s Job Center of California locations.
The department website also lists projected entry level jobs throughout the state, listed by region. In the Sacramento area, the site lists nearly 219,000 such jobs in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties.
In the Fresno area, EDD lists more than 54,700 farmworkers, laborers, crop, nursery and greenhouse jobs available, and another 11,170 in the Modesto area. In the San Luis Obispo area, a total of about 33,800 different entry level jobs are listed.
The CalJOBS online job search system also features more than 1 million current job listings throughout the state.
Regular state unemployment insurance will be available to people who have earned enough in employer paid wages over the previous 18 month period and lost their job or have been forced to work fewer hours.
There will be a one-week waiting period for new regular unemployment insurance benefit claims under the program, now that the waiver on the waiting period expired on September 6.
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Unemployment benefits are cut off — but thousands of Californians could see extra payments."
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