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EDD: California Federal Workers' Unemployment Claims Up 600% From Last Year

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — As the longest federal government shutdown in history continues, an increasing number of federal employees in California have applied for unemployment benefits.

According to the California Employment Development Department (EDD), 779 federal workers in the state have filed new claims in the week of Dec. 29. The number of new claims for that week are up 600 percent from the same time last year.

RELATED: Unemployment Claims By Federal Workers Skyrocket

While the new claims happened during the government shutdown, the EDD cannot determine how many of those federal employees applied for benefits as a direct result of the shutdown.

The EDD said there are approximately 245,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal federal workers in California, according to job estimates from November 2018.

READ: Current Shutdown Breaks Record For Longest Government Shutdown In US History

It is unclear how many of those workers are furloughed or working without pay.

Federal workers who are interested in filing an unemployment claim can go to the EDD website and apply using the Unemployment Insurance Application (Federal Employee).

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