California Unemployment
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Why is unemployment so low 2024 and how does California EDD calculate your weekly amount?
Got my Notice of Unemployment Insurance Award in the mail last week and I'm genuinely confused. My weekly benefit amount came out to $198, which feels really low for how much I was making at my last job. I was a warehouse supervisor making decent money but I had two jobs — one full-time and one part-time gig on weekends — and I only listed the full-time one when I applied because I thought that was what they wanted. Now I'm wondering if that's why my amount looks so small. Also my UI Online just says Pending on a bunch of weeks and I haven't heard anything about an interview or anything like that. Did I mess up my application? Can I do anything to fix the weekly amount or is it locked in now? Really stressed about this because $198 a week does not cover my rent.
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How does unemployment calculate how much you get in California EDD?
Got laid off from my warehouse job about two weeks ago and I'm trying to figure out what to expect before my first payment comes in. I applied through myEDD and got some paperwork but honestly the Notice of Unemployment Insurance Award they sent was confusing to me. It has a weekly benefit amount on it but I have no idea how they arrived at that number. My pay varied a lot over the past year and a half because I picked up overtime some quarters and not others. Does the overtime count? Do they look at your whole work history or just the last few months? And is there any way to estimate what you'll get before the actual letter shows up? I'm trying to budget for the next few months and the uncertainty is stressing me out.
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Eight weeks in after a layoff from a property management company. Something that wasn't clear to me initially: Social Security income is not deducted from unemployment and you don't even report it when you certify. I'd been worried because I'm near retirement age and collect a small Social Security amount. Confirmed this directly through Claimyr when I got to an EDD agent about another question on my claim. The agent verified my payment situation and confirmed Social Security wasn't factoring into my weekly benefit amount at all.
EDD's materials are dense and not always clear on what affects the payment versus what doesn't. Social Security being excluded is worth knowing especially if you're in your late 50s or 60s and have been collecting for a bit.
Pension and Social Security get treated completely differently and it trips people up. Pension may reduce benefits, Social Security does not. That distinction matters a lot depending on someone's situation.
Final check on something I've seen confused in other threads: the award letter, the DE 429Z, is NOT an approval. It's EDD telling you what the claim could pay if you're found eligible. If your layoff was straightforward and EDD doesn't flag any eligibility issues, payments will just start flowing after you certify. But if there's any question about your separation, EDD works through that before paying anything. The letter is just the financial picture, not the eligibility decision.
Worth watching UI Online regularly after certifying. If Pending weeks pile up without paying out, that sometimes signals EDD is reviewing something on the claim. For a clean layoff it usually moves, but it's good to keep an eye on it.
Pending status in Claim History just means EDD hasn't finished processing those weeks yet. Doesn't always mean something is wrong, but if it sits for more than a couple weeks it's worth reaching out to EDD to find out what's holding it up.
Do you have to repay unemployment benefits? California EDD overpayment explained
Got a Notice of Overpayment in the mail last week saying I owe EDD back $2,100 from earlier this year. I honestly had no idea this was even possible - I thought once they approved you and you got your payments that was it. The notice talks about fraud vs non-fraud overpayments and something about a waiver but it's written in bureaucratic language that makes my head spin. For context I was laid off from my warehouse job in March, certified every two weeks like I was supposed to, reported all my hours when I picked up a few shifts at a temp agency. I really don't understand how I ended up owing money if I did everything right. Has anyone actually had to pay back California EDD? Is there any way out of it or am I just stuck?
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California EDD flagged an overpayment on my account for three weeks from earlier this year. The hold times trying to call in were insane. I tried Claimyr after seeing it mentioned somewhere online and got through to an EDD agent the same day. She confirmed the specific weeks under review were tied to wages my part-time employer had reported late to EDD - the wages showed up in their system after I'd already certified for those weeks. She told me to keep an eye on my Claim History and that a Notice of Determination would come once the review finished.
Did she say how long the review typically takes once they have everything they need?
She said to watch for the Notice of Determination in the mail and that I could check Claim History in UI Online for status updates. No specific timeline given.
Based on everything in this thread I think my issue is the wage reporting timing - I reported temp wages when I got paid instead of when I worked the shifts. I sent a message through UI Online explaining this and attached my work schedule from the temp agency. Now just waiting to hear back. Fingers crossed it reduces what I owe or gets resolved as a non-fraud overpayment at least.
Sending through UI Online creates a record too which helps. If you don't hear back within a couple weeks, following up by phone or through the Help chat in UI Online is reasonable.
Keeping your certifications current while this resolves is important too - don't let any weeks lapse while waiting on the review.
Do I have to pay back unemployment benefits in California EDD?
Got laid off from my warehouse job back in September and finally worked up the nerve to file for unemployment. I've been collecting for about two months now, weekly benefit amount is $387. My cousin keeps telling me I'm going to owe all of it back at tax time like a loan or something, and now I'm spiraling. Do I have to pay back unemployment benefits or is he just messing with me? I looked on the EDD site and couldn't find a straight answer. I don't want to blow through this money if I owe it back.
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Just got my own overpayment notice last week — $1,240 from about eight months ago. Used Claimyr to get through to EDD because every time I called on my own I got the high-volume message and the line disconnected. The agent pulled up my account and confirmed the overpayment was flagged because a part-time employer submitted wages that I had already reported, so there was a double-count on EDD's end. Agent told me to send in the DE 1446UI waiver form with documentation showing I'd reported those wages correctly when I certified. Good to know the waiver is a real option in this situation.
The agent was clear that EDD would review the waiver against my actual certification history, so as long as my records match what I submitted the documentation should support it. The 30-day appeal window is also still open so I'll keep that in mind as a backup.
Keeping your own records of certifications and what you reported is exactly why documentation matters. EDD's own system had a data mismatch in this case and you have the receipts to show you did it right.
Random thing I noticed — EDD's payment information updates daily in UI Online and also through the Tele-Cert line at 1-866-333-4606. That number works 24 hours a day for checking payment status, not just during business hours. Really useful when you're anxious about whether a payment processed.
Does it also do certifications by phone? I lost access to my UI Online temporarily and had to find another way.
Yes — Tele-Cert at 1-866-333-4606, option 2, with your PIN. EDD calls it EDD Tele-Cert and it's one of the official ways to certify if UI Online isn't working for you.
How long does it take to get money from unemployment in California EDD?
Okay so I applied for California EDD unemployment two weeks ago and I'm kind of panicking because I have no idea when I'm actually going to see any money. My last day at work was about three weeks back — I got laid off from my warehouse job after they eliminated the whole logistics department. I applied online through myEDD the same week I lost my job and I did the identity verification thing with ID.me. But I haven't gotten anything yet, no payment, no card, no letter really explaining a timeline. I did get some paperwork in the mail but I'm not sure what it all means. Can someone tell me how long does it take to get money from unemployment? Like what's the actual realistic timeline here because my rent is due in two weeks and I'm stressed out of my mind.
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For anyone wondering about taxes on these payments — California unemployment benefits are federal taxable income but they're not taxed by California state. When you certify you can choose to have 10 percent withheld for federal taxes. EDD mails a Form 1099G in January showing what you collected for the year, and you can also find it in UI Online under Payments.
Yep, federal yes, state no. And if you don't withhold during the year you'll just owe whatever you owe on that income when you file your federal taxes in the spring.
Good to know, I'll opt into the 10 percent withholding when I certify so I'm not hit with a surprise bill later.
Coming up on three weeks since I applied and my first payment finally hit the Money Network card this morning. I had been checking UI Online every night like someone said earlier, and it flipped from Pending to paid literally overnight. The amount was exactly what the DE 429Z said my weekly benefit was. For anybody else waiting and asking how long does it take to get money from unemployment — in my case, 21 days from the date I applied.
21 days is actually on the faster side from what I've seen people report. And yeah, the overnight flip from Pending to paid is very real, it's jarring when you've been staring at Pending for so long.
Glad it came through. The anxiety of waiting for that first one is real and it doesn't quite go away until you see it actually in your account.
Keisha Johnson
Mortgage payment situation — has anyone had to explain to a lender that their income dropped to $198 a week from unemployment? I'm about to have a very uncomfortable conversation with my bank.
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Zainab Ibrahim
Not going to lie I've had that conversation. Each lender handles it differently. All I can say is be upfront with them early rather than waiting — some have hardship programs or forbearance options that aren't advertised.
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Keisha Johnson
Yeah I figured I'd have to just call them and see. Worth knowing there might be options.
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Natasha Petrova
Something that helped me when my weekly amount seemed way off: EDD's site has a benefit calculator that lets you plug in your quarterly wages and see what the weekly amount would work out to before you even file or appeal. Running the numbers with your second job included might show you exactly how much higher your payment should be, which gives you something concrete to point to in your appeal letter.
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Natasha Petrova
Bring the calculator result plus all your documentation. The appeal letter doesn't have to be fancy — just explain that the second employer's wages were left off your original application and attach the proof.
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Giovanni Conti
Keep it simple and factual in the appeal. EDD doesn't need a sob story, they need the wage records. Numbers and documentation win appeals, not explanations of hardship.
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