California unemployment: EDD answers most common questions

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Southern Californians are struggling with getting unemployment benefits as the state faces unprecedented job losses because of the pandemic.

We are here to help.

ABC7 brought viewer questions to Loree Levy, a spokesperson for the state's Employment Development Department.

"It truly is an avalanche that we faced here," Levy said.

In the last two months, about 4.7 million Californians have had their unemployment claims processed. But there are thousands more who have not, and trying to reach someone on the phone to answer questions has been a struggle.

Even with the state adding hundreds of workers to answer calls, there are still more calls coming in than people available to answer.

"All of us are truly exhausted," Levy said. "We've been working around the clock, very long hours, very little sleep."

To hear Levy's answers to some of the most common questions, watch the video above.