California Unemployment
CommunityGovernment Services
Can't reach California Unemployment? Claimyr calls for you, so you don't have to wait on hold.
Which claim is this call about?
Each program has its own EDD agents, so pick the one your claim is with.
Claimyr is a pay-as-you-go service. We do not charge a recurring subscription.
Using Claimyr will:
- Connect you to a human agent at the EDD
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
- Forward a call to your phone with reduced hold time
- Give you free callbacks if the EDD drops your call
Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
How much can you get with unemployment in California EDD?
Lost my job at a logistics company last month after a round of layoffs and I've been trying to figure out what I'll actually get paid if my claim goes through. The EDD site has a calculator but I honestly don't understand what 'highest quarter' means or which paychecks they look at. My hours were all over the place the last couple years so I genuinely have no idea what to expect. Someone at the warehouse told me California unemployment maxes out at like $900 a week but that sounds way too high to me. Can anyone break down how the weekly amount actually gets calculated? And does it matter that I had a few months where I barely worked due to a family situation?
Join the conversation
Is unemployment a social issue? Trying to understand California EDD and what it actually covers
Lost my retail job about six weeks ago when the store I worked at closed its location permanently. Applied for California EDD unemployment right away, got my DE 429Z showing my weekly benefit amount, and I've been certifying every two weeks like clockwork. But honestly the whole experience has me asking bigger questions. Is unemployment a social issue, or is it just some government accounting system that nobody really cares about? Because from where I'm sitting, it feels like there's this whole invisible layer of people going through exactly what I'm going through and nobody talks about it. My coworkers who also got let go have no idea how the certification process works, what CalJOBS is, what a base period even means. One of them thought she couldn't apply because she only worked part time. Another one thought the money comes out of his paychecks. I've been trying to explain it to everyone but honestly I only half understand it myself. What do people here think — is California EDD unemployment something that gets treated as a real social safety net or is it kind of swept under the rug?
Join the conversation
Overpayment notices are a fear I had during my own claim — specifically around reporting part-time work correctly. The rule that helped me: report earnings for the week they were earned, not when you actually got paid. So if you worked Monday through Friday and your paycheck comes the following Wednesday, that pay gets reported for the week you worked it.
Exactly. And the first $25 or 25 percent of gross earnings — whichever is higher — doesn't count against your benefit. Everything above that gets subtracted from the weekly amount. So working part-time doesn't necessarily eliminate the payment, it just reduces it.
The Report Wages screen in UI Online can help you work out the numbers for a week before you certify. It doesn't fix a week already certified — if you reported something wrong, you'd need to contact EDD through a UI Online message or by phone to correct it.
to actually answer the original question — yes unemployment is a social issue, full stop. it reflects how a society values workers during transition. whether California EDD makes that transition easier or harder for real people is the more interesting debate
And how employers respond to claims — an employer that fights every layoff claim is adding to the social weight of unemployment even if they're within their rights to respond.
Coming into this thinking it was just bureaucratic paperwork. Leaving this thread thinking it's genuinely one of the more complicated social systems I've had to interact with. Appreciate everyone's input — going to check my CalJOBS resume and my federal withholding setting today.
Where's the unemployment office? Trying to figure out California EDD in-person options
Okay so I just got laid off two days ago from my warehouse job and I'm trying to figure out where to go. Where's the unemployment office near me? I've been driving around looking for like a physical EDD building where I can walk in and file my claim but I cannot find anything. Google Maps shows a few addresses but when I drove to one it was just some random state building that told me to go somewhere else. I live in the Fresno area and I'm pretty lost. Is the EDD office closed permanently or did they move? I really want to talk to someone in person before I file because I want to make sure I do it right and don't mess anything up. My last day was Friday and I don't know if I should wait or file right away. Someone please help.
Join the conversation
EDD's benefit calculator on edd.ca.gov gives you an estimate of your weekly amount before you even apply. Worth running it with your last 18 months of wages to have a ballpark expectation. The real number comes on the DE 429Z after you file, but having the estimate sets your expectations.
The calculator is usually pretty close if your wages have been consistent. The main thing that shifts it is if your highest-earning quarter falls outside the standard base period, which the previous comment thread here explained well.
Used it too before filing and my actual amount came in almost exactly at the estimate. Useful tool.
Final thought from someone who's been through two separate layoffs with California EDD: the system works, it just requires you to stay on top of it. Set calendar reminders for your certification windows, watch your mail for every piece that comes from EDD, and keep your contact info current in myEDD so you don't miss anything. The problems people run into are usually from letting something slip through the cracks, not from EDD being impossible to work with.
Filing same-day as your layoff, getting identity verified fast, and staying consistent on certifications handles most of it. The rest is just responding to whatever EDD sends you promptly.
Two layoffs here too — second time was much smoother because I already knew the steps. By the end of the first one I had it down. Good luck with the warehouse situation.
How much does a company pay for unemployment insurance in California EDD?
So I got laid off last month from my job at a mid-size logistics company and started my California EDD claim, which is going fine so far. But my old boss texted me out of nowhere saying that my claim is going to 'cost them a fortune' and basically implying I shouldn't have filed. That rubbed me the wrong way because I thought unemployment was something employers pay into regardless, not something I triggered by filing. Now I'm second-guessing myself. How much does a company actually pay for unemployment? Is my boss right that my claim directly hits their wallet in some big way? I've been with this company for six years and this feels really manipulative if he's trying to guilt me into withdrawing my claim.
Join the conversation
The benefits themselves are taxable at the federal level - worth knowing when it comes to April. You can choose to have ten percent withheld for federal taxes each time you certify, which a lot of people skip and then get surprised come tax season. California doesn't tax UI benefits though. EDD mails a Form 1099G in January showing what you received, and it's also in UI Online under Payments.
Does Social Security get counted as income they'd subtract from your UI benefits? I know someone on SS who wants to file.
Social Security benefits are not deducted from your UI payment and you don't report them when certifying. Pensions based on past work are different - those may reduce benefits and EDD decides how much. But Social Security specifically is not counted against UI.
Just want to come back and say my boss actually texted me AGAIN last night saying I should talk to him before 'this goes further.' I didn't respond. My claim is processing, I'm certified through two weeks, and my Claim History in UI Online shows the payments moving. I'm going to keep certifying and not engage with him at all.
Already screenshotted everything. And honestly reading through this thread helped me understand exactly why he's doing it - the reserve account rate thing - and it makes his pressure feel a lot less scary now that I understand the actual mechanics.
Knowing how the system works is the best defense against this kind of pressure. You have every right to what you filed for and understanding why your boss is upset has nothing to do with whether your claim is valid.
Who can get unemployment benefit through California EDD? Trying to figure out if I qualify
Lost my job at a small logistics company last month and I've been going back and forth on whether I even qualify for California EDD unemployment. My situation is a little complicated - I was full-time for about 14 months, then they cut my hours down to almost nothing (like 6 hours a week) before finally letting me go entirely. I earned decent wages while I was full-time but I honestly don't know if that counts toward whatever threshold EDD looks at. I've also heard people say that if you don't earn enough in certain quarters you don't qualify at all, and now I'm spiraling. Is there a general rule about who can get unemployment benefit or does it really depend on a bunch of individual factors? I filed online through myEDD (https://myedd.edd.ca.gov/) about two weeks ago and I'm just waiting to hear something back. Would love to hear from people who've been through the process and actually know what EDD looks for.
Join the conversation
The partial work earnings formula confused me for weeks when I was first on a claim. Thought any amount of work meant zero benefits for that week. The actual rule is that the first $25 or 25 percent of your gross for the week (whichever is the larger number) is ignored, and whatever is left gets subtracted from your weekly benefit amount. So part-time work doesn't have to wipe out your whole benefit.
Report any work for the week it was earned, not when you actually get paid. That's the part that trips people up - EDD goes by when you did the work, not when the check clears.
UI Online has a Report Wages section to work out earnings before certifying. It won't let you correct a week you've already certified - if you made a reporting error on a past week, you have to contact EDD through a message in UI Online or by phone.
Last week my claim finally came through after two months of back and forth - the issue was a discrepancy in my wages from my last employer that EDD had to verify. At one point I tried Claimyr to reach an agent about why my Claim History showed weeks stuck in Pending. The agent confirmed a wage verification was open and that EDD had already sent my employer a notice. Knowing there was actually a process happening instead of just silence made the waiting way more bearable.
Exactly. Not knowing if something is broken or just slow is the worst part. Once I knew there was a specific step being worked through, I could actually stop panicking every day.
That's the same reason I ended up calling too - Pending with no context is just not enough information to plan your life around.
Malik Jackson
Quick note on the $450 max — it hasn't changed in years and a lot of people who were higher earners find it cuts into their income significantly. If your weekly pay was $1,500, the most unemployment replaces is $450, which is about 30 cents on the dollar. Plan your budget around that number being the ceiling, not an approximation.
0 coins
Malik Jackson
That's the reality most people hit when they actually do the math. The good news is if you land part-time work you can still collect a reduced benefit for weeks you don't work full time.
0 coins
Chloe Robinson
the earnings formula helps more than people expect — if you pick up two or three days of shifts per week the reduction to your benefit is smaller than you'd think because of that $25 or 25 percent offset
0 coins
NeonNebula
One thing that hasn't come up yet — training. If you're thinking about going back to school or doing a certification program while you collect, EDD has California Training Benefits that let you skip the work search requirement while you're in an approved program. You'd need to apply for it before your 16th week of benefits, and there's a training extension possible too. Not automatic and not available for every program, but worth asking EDD about if that's on your radar.
0 coins
NeonNebula
Possibly — EDD decides what programs qualify, not the school. Worth contacting EDD to ask about your specific situation before you sign up and assume it'll count.
0 coins
AstroAlpha
I looked into this for a coding bootcamp and it was more complicated than I expected, the program has to be EDD-approved which takes some coordination upfront. Worth pursuing if you have the time to set it up early.
0 coins