Coronavirus and California’s unemployment

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Covid-19 has been felt in every area of life across the nation. The most recent news is that the pandemic is spreading quickly throughout the rural areas and even more disturbing, it hits poor communities, especially people of color, the hardest.

The disease has also hit our economy, as everyone knows. California is the largest state economy in the nation and the fifth largest economy in the world. Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has been referring to California as a nation-state.

From Vermont Senator and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders

WalletHub has put together some facts about the economic impact of the coronavirus on the state. There has been a 2180.75% increase in unemployment claims, from from 38,528 the week of March 25, 2019 to 878,727 the week of March 23, 2020. It was actually the ninth lowest in the nation. It went up 2293.05% this year; from 36,720 in the first week of the year to 878,727 the week of March 23, 2020.

The average increase in unemployment across the nation is 2,002%, for this year. New York has a low increase, just over 700%, but that could also be due to the problems the state has had with its unemployment filing system, which has crashed.

If you would like to see the latest data concerning the economy and COVID-19, click here.

Top photo courtesy of the CDC