California Businesses Pay Taxes on Smallest Share of Wages in US, Leading to Insufficient Funds for Unemployment Benefits

Taxable Wage Base as a Percentage of Average Annual Earnings for a Year-Round Worker, 2022

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Note: The taxable wage base is the portion of each employee's earnings subject to employer payroll taxes. Average weekly earnings are for private-sector workers and were multiplied by 52 weeks to determine average annual earnings for a year-round worker.

Source: Budget Center analysis of US Quarterly Census of Earnings & Wages and US Department of Labor dataEmbed Download image