California’s Data Backlog to Cloud U.S. Jobless Claims for Weeks

California’s numbers on unemployment claims are set to remain frozen at prior levels in Thursday’s national report and potentially longer, extending distortions that some economists were expecting to subside after the state ended a two-week pause on filings.

The most populous state resumed accepting benefits applications last week following an overhaul of its systemsto address a massive backlog and implement better identity verification.

But the state’s claims will continue to be estimated in national figures -- using the numbers from the week before the pause in mid-September-- until the figures normalize, which could take two to three weeks, the ...