(Bloomberg) -- A recent surge in new jobless claims in California, which has played a role in boosting total U.S. filings, was due to the transfer of unemployed people from one federal program to another.
Two weeks of large increases in claims didn't reflect new people entering the Golden State's unemployment insurance system, California's Employment Development Department said in an email.
The state transferred “hundreds of thousands” of people from the U.S. Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program -- which ended on Sept. 4 -- to the Federal Extended Duration extension that expired on Sept. 11 to give them an extra week of benefits, the EDD said.
California, the most populous state, reported an increase of nearly 18,000 unadjusted initial claims last week, the most of all states nationwide, after a more than 17,000 surge in the previous period.
Read more: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rise Again, Led by California
In the next few weeks, the state also anticipates that some people whose federal benefits ended will attempt to apply for regular state unemployment insurance -- even if they're not eligible -- which could lead to a further uptick in claims. Therefore, an increase in filings wouldn't necessarily signal a pickup in dismissals.
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