California workers filed more initial claims for unemployment last week than they did the week before, raising questions about whether the state’s job market has begun to heal in a sustained way from COVID-linked ailments.
During the week that ended July 31, California workers filed 65,500 claims for jobless benefits, up 1,000 from the week ending July 24, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
California last week produced one-fifth of all the jobless claims filed in the United States.
Nationwide, workers filed 385,000 initial claims for unemployment last week, down 14,000 from the first-time claims the week before. The Labor Department’s U.S. data was adjusted to account for seasonal volatility.
The latest unemployment claims filed in California represent the highest weekly number posted since the state reopened its economy in mid-June.
Economists had predicted that reopening of the economy would enable the statewide job market to gain traction and banish the maladies unleashed by the COVID-triggered lockdowns.
