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Record $23B Paid In Calif. Jobless Benefits In 2010

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — California paid out $23 billion in unemployment benefits in 2010 a new record for the financially-battered state.

And as KNX 1070's John Brooks reports, with 13 percent unemployment in Los Angeles County, there doesn't seem to be any relief in sight.

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Last year, about $90 million a day was sent out in checks to 1.7 million jobless Californians.

Unemployment benefits are financed by a state and federal tax on employers, but
the rate is not high enough to cover the record payouts, as California's unemployment trust fund is about $10 billion in debt.

(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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