California could see a peak of 25% unemployment as more than 4.6 million people have already filed for job-loss benefits
- California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state's unemployment rate could peak at 25% as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
- So far, 4.6 million people in the state have filed for unemployment.
- The state also expects a $54.3 billion deficit.
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California's unemployment rate could reach a peak at 24.5% as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday, several outlets reported.
Newsom said 4.6 million residents have filed unemployment claims since March 12, CNBC reported.
"We are projecting in our documents that we're putting out today in our May revise of that January budget that unemployment will peak north of 24.5%. One could argue that we're already there," Newsom said, according to CNBC.
In comparison, around 2.2 million Californians filed for unemployment during the peak of the financial crisis, ABC7 reported. Newsom said that the economic toll has not "been felt like this since the Great Depression."
"We are at a time that's simply unprecedented," Newsom said according to ABC7.
The state is also expecting a $54.3 billion deficit.
According to CNBC, the state's budget reported a $5.6 billion surplus and a record-low 3.9% unemployment rate before the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent stay-at-home orders that closed non-essential businesses.
ABC7 reported that Newsom proposed cutting $6.1 billion from "from a variety of programs as part of next year's budget," and also plans to use the states "$16 billion rainy day fund over three years."
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