California unemployment claims surged to a record level last week, with at least 878,7278 people reporting lost jobs, as the coronavirus’ economic toll engulfed the state.
The Golden State’s claims rose to more than double those of any other state.
The skyrocketing number for the week ending March 28 far surpassed the previous week’s 186,333 claims, but even that is likely to grow. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that 1.6 million Californians have filed claims since March 13, including a record 150,000 on Monday alone.
Last week’s extraordinary jump came as the U.S. reported a record 6.6 million claims nationwide last week, up from 3.3 million the previous week. “This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims in the history of the seasonally adjusted series,” which began in 1967, the federal Labor Department reported.
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