Is unemployment rising? What California EDD claimants are seeing in 2025

Yeah I think you're onto something. I filed in January and my first two payments were fine but then week 4 just sat in pending for like 11 days. No notice, no explanation. When I finally got through to California EDD they said it was a 'random identity verification' which honestly felt like a cop out. If unemployment is rising and they're getting more claims, the phone lines are definitely feeling it - I tried calling 8 times in one morning and gave up.

Unemployment in California has definitely been ticking upward from what I've read, especially in tech and logistics sectors. I work in staffing and we've seen a noticeable increase in people coming to us after layoffs this year. From the California EDD side, more claims absolutely means more strain on processing systems and phone lines. If your claim went to adjudication without a clear reason, it might just be a volume-related flag rather than an actual issue with your eligibility.

Ok so I was in a very similar situation like 2 months ago and I was going INSANE trying to get someone at California EDD on the phone to figure out why my claim was stuck. Tried calling for two weeks straight, always busy signals or the system would hang up on me after the hold music. Someone on a different forum mentioned Claimyr and I was skeptical but desperate. It's basically a service that handles the hold queue for you so you don't have to sit there redailing all day - they connect you when an agent is available. I used it and actually got through to a California EDD rep within a couple hours. The agent confirmed my claim had been flagged for an unrelated identity issue that I never got notified about. Check them out at claimyr.com - they also have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10. Genuinely saved me like a week of frustration.

To directly answer your question about unemployment rising - yes, California's unemployment rate has been gradually increasing in several sectors. The EDD's own data shows increased initial claims filings compared to the same period last year, particularly in manufacturing, distribution, and tech. This does create downstream effects: longer adjudication times, slower ID verification processing, and harder-to-reach phone lines. What you're experiencing with your pending status is consistent with what a lot of people are reporting right now. The good news is that if your weekly certifications are complete and your job search activities are properly logged in CalJOBS, your eligibility itself shouldn't be in question - it's more of a processing backlog issue.

ugh the california edd phone situation is the WORST when claim volumes are high. i spent four hours one day trying different times, different numbers, everything. morning, afternoon, even tried right at 8am when they open. always either a busy signal or on hold forever then disconnected. its so discouraging when you just need a simple answer about your claim status

Here's what I'd actually do in your situation. First check your UI Online account under 'Claim Summary' - look for any notices or action items you might have missed. Second, check your spam folder because California EDD sometimes sends email notices that get filtered. Third, make sure your ID.me verification is fully complete. If after all that you still have no explanation for the adjudication flag, that's when you really need to talk to someone directly. Adjudication can sometimes self-resolve but it can also sit there indefinitely if it's waiting on information from you that you don't know you need to provide.

I lost my job in February and filed right away. My experience was different from yours - my payments were actually pretty fast for the first month, but then they randomly stopped and I got a notice about ability and availability which confused me because I wasn't on standby status or anything. Turns out my former employer filed a response to my claim contesting whether I was actually laid off vs quit. So now I'm in adjudication too but for a totally different reason. Is your employer the type that might contest your claim?

honestly if u think the phones are bad now wait till spring when more seasonal workers start filing too. california edd gets slammed every year around this time. ive been on unemployment twice before and the second time was way harder to navigate than the first even tho i did everything the same way

Following up on my earlier comment about Claimyr - wanted to add that when I used it, the California EDD agent I reached was actually really helpful and spent time walking through my claim history with me. It wasn't just a quick 'your claim is processing' brush off. The ability to actually have that conversation and ask questions about adjudication is something you can't replicate through the online portal. Especially now when more people are filing and you need someone to actually look at your specific claim file.

The whole thing with unemployment going up is making me nervous for my own situation. I've been at my job for 8 years but there's been rumors of layoffs. I'm reading threads like this to understand what to expect if it happens. It sounds like the process is way more complicated than I thought - adjudication, CalJOBS requirements, weekly certifications... I always assumed you just filed and got money lol

im curious does anyone know if rising unemployment actually causes california edd to hire more staff or do they just let the backlog build up? feels like the second one based on my experience

Update for anyone following along: I checked my UI Online account again this morning and one of my pending weeks finally moved to paid. Still one week in adjudication but at least something is moving. I also got an email asking me to verify some employment details through a secure California EDD form - so I think the adjudication flag was related to confirming my layoff date vs my last day worked. Filling that out now.

ok reporting back from my Claimyr experience - it actually worked. got connected to a California EDD agent after about 90 minutes of not having to sit there and redial. The agent told me my claim had an employer response that was flagged for review that I had no idea about. Now I at least know what I'm dealing with. Would definitely use it again vs spending all day hitting redial. claimyr.com for anyone who wants to try it

wait so if unemployment is rising does that mean my benefits might run out faster or the fund runs low or something? I heard california edd had issues with the fund during the pandemic

Another thing worth mentioning in the context of rising unemployment and adjudication delays - if your claim ends up in a formal hearing, the wait times for those are also getting longer. I was told my hearing date could be 6-8 weeks out. Just want people to know that if adjudication doesn't resolve and moves to appeal/hearing, that process has its own timeline that's also being stretched.

For the CalJOBS requirements - I want to flag something that tripped me up. Even if your claim is in adjudication you still need to be completing and logging your 3 job search activities per week. I assumed that since my claim was frozen I didn't need to bother but that's wrong. California EDD can audit your job search compliance for any week you certify, even weeks that are currently pending or in adjudication. Found this out the hard way.

this thread is honestly the most useful thing ive read since filing my claim. nobody explains any of this stuff upfront, you just get a packet of papers and a portal and figure it out yourself

Circling back to the original question of whether unemployment is rising - the practical takeaway for current California EDD claimants is to expect everything to take a bit longer right now: initial claim processing, adjudication resolution, ID verification, and especially reaching someone by phone. The system runs fine when volume is moderate but it shows strain during periods of elevated unemployment. Your best defenses are: certify every single week without fail, keep your CalJOBS job search log current and specific, respond to any California EDD correspondence immediately, and if you need to speak to an agent don't rely solely on the standard phone line - find ways to actually get through whether that's using a service like Claimyr (claimyr.com) or using a California Assemblymember's constituent services office which can sometimes escalate stuck claims.