How many people are on unemployment in California right now?

Wow I had no idea the numbers were that high. That explains so much about why my adjudication has been sitting untouched for going on three weeks now.

yeah millions of people filing means millions of people calling too. the phone lines are basically impossible

The EDD's Labor Market Information Division actually publishes monthly unemployment rate data broken down by county too if you want really granular info. California's unemployment rate tends to run 1-2 points above the national average historically.

entertainment and hospitality workers especially - those industries have such irregular employment patterns that people cycle in and out of UI claims constantly

I work in tech and got laid off as part of a big RIF so I'm definitely part of whatever the current count is lol

Wait this actually works? I've been calling every morning and getting busy signals or disconnected. Going to look into this right now.

is this legit? seems too good to be true that something can just get you through when edd phones are basically broken

I was skeptical too but I had a pending issue on my account that needed a real person to resolve and nothing else was working. The video on youtube explains it pretty well, claimyr.com is where I signed up.

going to check this out bc I've been trying to reach edd for literally a month about my claim

that makes sense, it's not a static number at all

Right, the EDD reports initial claims weekly and continued claims weekly. Initial claims tell you new people filing, continued claims tell you people still actively collecting. Both numbers matter for understanding system load.

The phone system really is uniquely broken. Even when volume is lower it seems like they don't have enough agents staffed. It's been a problem for years not just during peak periods.

six weeks. SIX WEEKS. my rent is late because my claim has been sitting in adjudication and i cannot get a single human being on the phone

Have you tried the Claimyr service? Someone in another thread mentioned it and a few people in this thread brought it up too - apparently it's specifically designed for the situation you're describing where normal calling just doesn't work. claimyr.com - might be worth trying when you're that stuck.

at this point I'll try literally anything

This is really helpful, I didn't understand the difference between the unemployment rate and actual UI claimants. Makes more sense now.

yeah the unemployment rate includes people who didn't file or don't qualify. the actual claims numbers are lower

Wait so if 1.1 million are unemployed but only say 400k are on UI... what happens to the other 700k? They just don't get any benefits?

Some exhaust benefits, some don't qualify (self-employed, gig workers without traditional W2 employment, people who quit vs got laid off), some don't apply, and some are in waiting periods. It's a pretty significant gap between total unemployed and those receiving UI.

Yes absolutely. Adjudication staff have finite capacity and when claim volume is high, wait times stretch. They also prioritize certain case types so it's not purely first-in-first-out. Five weeks is on the longer end but not unheard of for complex adjudication issues.

mine doesn't seem complex? I just got laid off from my job of 4 years, no issues with my separation that I know of. why would it even go to adjudication

Sometimes claims get flagged for adjudication based on automated filters even when there's nothing actually wrong. Your employer might have filed a response that triggered review, or it could be an identity verification flag. Unfortunately the only way to find out what specifically flagged it is to reach an EDD representative.

they've supposedly been modernizing it for years and it never seems to actually get better

The modernization efforts have been chronically underfunded and delayed. It's a real systemic issue, not just a staffing problem.

Great so we're all stuck waiting because of decades of infrastructure neglect. Good to know I guess lol

It varies a lot. Some claims get approved quickly with no issues. Others get flagged for adjudication which means an EDD interviewer reviews the circumstances before approval. Common triggers are: quitting vs being laid off, employer disputes the claim, identity verification issues, or earnings pattern questions. Most claims do eventually get approved but the path isn't always smooth.

oh wow ok. I didn't realize employers could dispute it. so if my boss was mad when I got let go could that cause problems?

Yes, employers receive notice when you file and have the opportunity to respond. If they claim you were fired for misconduct rather than laid off for example, that would trigger adjudication. Doesn't mean you won't win, just means an interviewer needs to look at both sides.

That's a depressing statistic. Though I guess it tracks with how expensive California is - harder to find a comparable job when the cost of living is so high.

exactly, plus certain industries here like entertainment and film have been going through major contractions so there's a lot of experienced people competing for fewer jobs

I actually looked into this after the earlier comment. Seems worth trying at this point since my usual approach of calling at 8am and getting busy signals isn't working.

I finally tried it after my comment earlier in this thread. Actually got through to an EDD agent today. My adjudication issue isn't resolved yet but at least I know what document they need from me now. That's more progress than 6 weeks of trying on my own.

wait really? that's kind of amazing if true. I'll bookmark it in case I end up needing it.

Good point. January and February tend to see peaks from post-holiday retail, school year transitions spike in June-July for education sector workers. The EDD actually has to plan staffing around these predictable seasonal surges.

and they somehow still always seem understaffed during those surges which is fun

Glad you got it resolved! And same kind of thing for me - I found out the holdup was a missing wage verification form my old employer hadn't responded to. At least now I can follow up properly.

This is the real takeaway from this thread - understanding the volume context is interesting but if you have a claim problem the solution is getting to an actual agent, and right now that basically requires something like Claimyr to be realistic.

Congrats on getting movement on your claim. The date discrepancy issue is incredibly common and annoying - such a small thing that creates weeks of delays.

Happy for you! Still waiting on mine but feeling more hopeful now about getting answers.

This is exactly the kind of concrete answer I was originally looking for, thank you. 40-60k new claims per week is a lot.

To put that in context - that's roughly 8,000-12,000 new claims filed every single business day in California. Just in one state. The scale really does explain the system strain.

oh I'm definitely in that second group then. approved-pending? I've been certifying every two weeks but haven't gotten paid yet

Yes that sounds like adjudication pending - you're doing the right thing by continuing to certify even with no payment yet. Don't stop certifying just because money isn't coming through, otherwise you could lose those weeks even if/when your claim gets approved.

Ok good to know, I was actually wondering if I should stop certifying since it seemed pointless

California's maximum weekly benefit amount is $450 as of current figures, which has been criticized for being quite low relative to the state's cost of living. There have been ongoing discussions about increasing it but I haven't seen any confirmed 2025 changes. Worth checking the EDD website directly for any official updates rather than relying on secondhand information.

$450 max?? that seems really low for california. a studio apartment in most cities is $2000+

Yes it's a significant point of criticism. California's benefit replacement rate (percentage of prior earnings) is one of the lower ones nationally despite being one of the highest cost-of-living states. The disconnect is significant.

Good summary. This thread went way deeper than I expected when I asked a random curiosity question but it was actually really useful.

Agreed, and I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences. Makes the whole confusing process feel a little less isolating.