Administer the state?s unemployment insurance program activities

The Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration awarded the State of California Employment Development Department $319.185 million on October 1, 2025, through the Unemployment Insurance formula grant program (CFDA 17.225) to administer the state's unemployment insurance program activities.

The funding covers costs incurred in operating California's unemployment insurance program, including administrative workload, claims processing capability, claimant system operations, staffing levels, and overhead costs. The state is expected to maintain or improve performance in timeliness and quality of unemployment insurance claims processing and improper payment handling, with particular focus on identifying fraudulent claims and reducing improper payment rates. Intended beneficiaries are unemployment compensation claimants.

The award runs through December 31, 2028, with performance taking place in California. The recipient does not intend to subaward funds. Grants under this program are based on workload formulas; states submit State Quality Service Plans to ETA regional offices outlining selected workloads, required resources, and staffing needs to accomplish them. Annual base funding is derived from workload projections based on economic assumptions and nationally developed estimates, with additional quarterly funding based on actual workloads.

Purpose

The purpose of this grant is to administer the state?s unemployment insurance program activities.

Activities

Funding provided to the state is for costs incurred for the operation of their unemployment insurance program. This includes the state?s unemployment insurance administrative workload and their ability to process claims. This also includes the operation of the state?s claimant systems as well as staffing levels and overhead costs.

Expected outcomes

The state is able to maintain or improve levels of performance regarding the timeliness and quality of processing unemployment insurance claims, as well as effectively handling improper payments. The state?s ability to identify fraudulent claims and reduce improper payment rates is maintained or improved.

Intended beneficiaries

Unemployment compensation claimants.

Subrecipient activities

The recipient does not intend to subaward funds.