Unemployment Assistance
EDD Opens Offices on Saturdays
to Assist Unemployment Insurance Applicants
SACRAMENTO -- Twenty-five Employment Development Department (EDD) workforce services offices throughout the state are open for four hours each on Saturdays to provide unemployed workers greater access to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program. Computers and phones will be available for those who may not have access to such items at home to help Californians file for UI benefits or submit questions about their claims.
EDD offices in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose are offering Saturday hours. (See list below.)
EDD employees will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays to coincide with the newly added Saturday hours for the UI Call Centers. These measures are some of the initiatives EDD is implementing to help meet an unprecedented demand for UI benefits.
The computers in the these offices have the same access as home computers, but are being made available for those unemployed workers who don’t have the use of a personal computer. Customers can file for benefits online or submit questions through the “Contact EDD” feature on the front page of EDD’s website: www.edd.ca.gov
Unemployed workers who do not wish to file online can use the office phones or their home phones to contact one of six EDD call centers and apply over the phone. The UI call center phone numbers, which are available on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (as well as Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.) are:
English: 1-800-300-5616
Spanish: 1-800-326-8937
EDD encourages workers to file online (www.edd.ca.gov) if at all possible. It is the quickest and easiest way to apply for unemployment insurance benefits.
EDD also encourages unemployed workers to visit one of 250 One Stop Career Centers and workforce services offices statewide during the week to take advantage of the wide range of job search and career development services offered at the offices.
The following offices will be open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.:
San Francisco
801 Turk St
San Francisco, CA 94102
Oakland
675 Hegenberger
Oakland, CA 94621
San Jose
2450 S. Bascom
San Jose, CA 95008
How to Get Help
Apply Online
To receive unemployment insurance benefits, visit:
www.edd.ca.gov
Saturday Hours
The following EDD offices have extended their hours to incude Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
San Francisco
801 Turk Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
Oakland
675 Hegenberger
Oakland, CA 94621
San Jose
2450 S. Bascom
San Jose, CA 95008
Unemployment Benefits Extended
In late April, the California Legislature approved a measure that extends unemployment benefits to Californians who have been out of work for more than a year.
ABx3 23 authorizes the state to take advantage of more than $3 billion in federal economic stimulus funds. The bill extends unemployment benefits for Californians who have exausted the maximum 59 weeks that is made available under state law, giving unemployed workers an additional 20 weeks of assistance.
The unemployment benefit extension will help an estimated 469,000 Californians.
California’s unemployment rate of 10.5% is the highest it has been in more than 25 years.