California's Troubled Trust Fund
In 2001, the state Legislature increased benefits without increasing taxes, which sent the trust fund falling. The state was still slowly recovering from a 2004-2005 economic downturn, entering 2008 with less than four months of reserves. Even as the state's borrowing surpasses $6 billion - by far the nation's highest - the Legislature and the governor have not been able to come to an agreement about how to stop the bleeding.
This news application is no longer being updated as of February 3, 2011. The historical data is still accurate.
| Bankrupt and Borrowing: California's unemployment fund is currently bankrupt and California is borrowing from the federal government. |
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| Borrowed Amount | Unemployment Rate (November) | Net Income (December) | Avg. Weekly Benefit | % of Unemployed Receiving Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $9,979.2m | 12.4% | $-523.1m | $303.6 | 34.0% |
| National: 9% | Rank: 51 of 51 | Rank: 23 of 51 | Rank: 34 of 51 |
Unemployment Reserves (millions)
Reporters: You are free to use this data to report your stories. Just remember to credit Propublica. Here's a CSV Download of our unemployment data. (Last update February 02, 2011)
Sources: Google Public Data, Department of Labor, Treasury Department.