Coronavirus: EDD unemployment backlog tops 1.7 million in two months in California

Jun. 3--State labor officials issued more than 2 million first-time payments to unemployed California workers during April yet still face a mounting backlog of first payments to jobless workers amid the economic woes unleashed by the coronavirus, a federal database shows.

During March and April combined, the state's Employment Development Department received 4.01 million initial claims for unemployment benefits from California workers, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Labor Department's Employment & Training Administration.

Yet over the same two months, which roughly cover the start of business shutdowns ordered by state and local government officials, the EDD made its first unemployment payments to 2.26 million California workers.

That means 1.75 million jobless California workers who filed claims during those two months were still waiting for first-time payments as of the end of April, the federal statistics show.

An analysis of the federal statistics shows that the EDD appears to be making headway but still faces a mammoth backlog in making the first payments for unemployment claims.

During April, the EDD completed first payments to 2.04 million California workers, on top of 215,200 first payments completed in March, for a total of 2.26 million first unemployment payments during those two months, the Labor Department statistics show.

Yet because initial unemployment claims handled by the EDD totaled 2.35 million in April on top of 1.65 million in March, that means the EDD's first-time payment totals amounted to only 56 percent of the number of initial claims that poured into the EDD during the two-month stretch.

These unsettling statistics have emerged at a time when the EDD has been unable -- for months -- to efficiently answer a tsunami of phone calls and unemployment claims from California workers.

Monica Morris-Aranda, a San Jose resident who lost her job in March at a high-end steakhouse in Palo Alto, said Wednesday that she has finally received her first payments from the EDD after weeks of attempting to get through to the state agency.

"I got my debit card from the EDD, they gave me the back payments that they owed me, plus another payment week," Morris-Aranda said. "This helps, but it's been very frustrating to deal with the EDD."

On Wednesday, difficulties at the EDD's call center were on display again.

"COVID-19 has created a big increase in the number of calls we receive, but we are here to help you as soon as possible," an EDD recording at one of the numbers stated.

While that sounded encouraging, hope soon dissolved at the end of the phone call.

"You will not be able to file a claim, update a claim, or speak to a representative," the EDD recording concluded on one of the phone lines.

Calls to the three EDD official phone numbers that the state agency has given out created a loop of referrals to other phone numbers or the glitch-hobbled EDD web site.

"We are experiencing high call volumes and are unable to assist you at this time," an EDD recording at 800-300-5616 stated. "We are sorry we are unable to answer your call at this time. You are now being disconnected. Thank you."

The bottom line: A live EDD phone operator wasn't available to take the calls placed to the numbers, despite repeated attempts on Wednesday and on other days.

This news organization asked the EDD to comment on the current situation for processing unemployment claims.

In late May, the EDD said it was hoping to recruit 1,800 workers before the end of this month in a "mass hiring effort." The state government site www.calcareers.ca.gov is the best place to apply for EDD jobs.

The EDD now has 3,000 workers in its unemployment insurance unit, including 1,200 who were already on staff with the EDD unit prior to the spike in jobless claims, along with workers brought in from other state agencies. The agency now is seeking to bring 1,800 more on board.

"I know people who are still fighting to get through to the EDD," Morris-Aranda said. "The EDD hasn't handled this very well at all. They should have had something in place to handle this crisis. They were completely unprepared."

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