What has Gavin Newson said on a new Golden State Stimulus after October?

Around half of the more than 9 million Californians eligible to receive a Golden State, stimulus check have received their payments, according to the Sacramento Bee. 

While most of those scheduled to receive their payments through direct deposit have, those who will receive a check in the mail may have to wait until January 2022.

Physical Check Payment Schedule

Source: California Tax Franchise Board, 2021

The first round of checks, approved in February, was sent to residents making under $35,000 a year. The second round, approved in July expanded eligibility to all households in the state with an income at or below $75,000.

Will another check be approved?

Most leaders in the Golden State have been silent on whether another round of direct payments will be approved. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who faced a contentious recall election in September was one of the biggest proponents of the sending of the second round of checks. However, since he handily won overcame the recall, he has not made any public statements in favor or opposition to a third round of direct payments. 

Lawmakers may be interested in evaluating the impacts of the first two rounds of payments before making their support for a third public.

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What was the state's unemployment rate when each payment was passed?

Low-income households in California have been hit hard by the pandemic. In April 2020, the unemployment rate in the state hit sixteen percent. All in all, the state lost 2,714,800 jobs in a matter of a few months.

Since then, the rate has come down to 7.5 percent, and around 1,723,800 jobs have been added back into the economy.

Golden State stimulus I

In February when the first round of payments targeting low-income residents was passed, the unemployment rate was recorded at 8.5 percent.

Around one in ten workers in California are immigrants, who were unable to claim federal stimulus checks. As these workers constitute such an important piece of California's labor force, legislators wanted to ensure that they could claim GGS checks.

Golden State Stimulus II

In June, when eligibility was expanded to all those with incomes below $75,000, the unemployment rate was 7.6 percent. There has been little movement from this level but the state does have one advantage. While many other states are currently experiencing a massive wave of resignations, the levels in California have not changed significantly. Some analysts attribute this to the fact that the state has a higher minimum wage. The minimum wage is $14, but the median hourly wage stands around $19.