State’s unemployment claims top 200,000, worst level in three months

Initial jobless claims filed by California workers totaled 202,600 during the week that ended Dec.

12, an increase of 23,900 from the totals for the prior week, the U.S. Labor Department reported.

Unemployment claims in California jumped by nearly 24,000 last week and topped 200,000 for the first time since September, the government reported Thursday in a grim indicator that the coronavirus may force the state’s ailing economy to relapse.

Initial jobless claims filed by California workers totaled 202,600 during the week that ended Dec. 12, an increase of 23,900 from the totals for the prior week, the U. S. Labor Department reported.

During the week that ended Dec. 5, California workers filed 178,700 initial unemployment claims, according to the Labor Department.

Unemployment claims had declined for most of October, a sign of improvement in California’s battered job market.

But the upswing has now vanished.

Jobless claims have risen for seven of the last eight weeks, which suggests that coronavirus- linked economic woes once again imperil the health of the state’s economy.

A fresh round of coronavirus-linked shutdowns prescribed by state and local government agencies to combat the deadly bug has forced a growing number of businesses to scale back operations or even shut their doors — sometimes permanently.

Those business shutdowns, in turn, could shove first- time claims for unemployment higher as workers once again find themselves without a job.