COVID job market: California unemployment claims drop again, stay below 100,000

Initial unemployment claims in California dropped last week and remained well below 100,000 claims for the second straight week, federal labor officials reported.

The report from the U.S. Labor Department could hint at a possible turning point for California’s ailing job market, which has been sickly since coronavirus-linked business shutdowns ordered by state and local government officials began nearly a year ago.

For the first time since officials launched the shutdowns to combat the spread of the deadly bug, initial jobless claims in California remained below 100,000 in weekly filings for two consecutive weeks, this news organization’s analysis of the claims reports shows.

This recent performance represents a welcome counterpoint to the dismal track record for California’s feeble employment sector.

Since the onset of the lockdowns, California has posted weekly jobless claims well above 100,000 for 45 out of 48 weeks.

During the week that ended on Feb. 27, California workers filed about 88,130 initial claims for unemployment, down 2,340 from the 90,470 claims filed on the week ending Feb. 20, the U.S. Labor Department reported.

Nationwide, initial jobless claims totaled 745,000 last week, up 9,000 from the 736,000 in claims filed the prior week.