A protester holds a sign in front of the pier in Huntington Beach, California, May 3, 2020.  (Photo: AP)

LOS ANGELES, May 7 (Xinhua) -- A memo released by California Governor Gavin Newsom's office Thursday said due to the COVID-19 pandemic the government would face a 54.3 billion U.S. dollars budget deficit through next summer.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has caused enormous hardship for families, businesses and governments across the world, the United States and California," the California Department of Finance said in the memo, "It has endangered health, stressed the healthcare system, and caused devastating losses in family and business income."

The deficit projection extends to the remainder of this fiscal year and through the 2020-21 period that starts July 1, according to the local media.

The governor's budget team predicted that the state's revenues would drop 41.2 billion U.S. dollars and expense would skyrocket compared to their initial estimates in January.

For spending on certain emergency and safety net programs affected by the fatal disease, spending of the state could top 13 billion U.S. dollars this fiscal year.

The latest prediction showed a stunning reversal for the Golden State that had a 21 billion U.S. dollars surplus a year ago.

In January, Newsom's office issued a 222 billion U.S. dollars budget proposal for next fiscal year which projected the state would accumulate a 5.6 billion U.S. dollars surplus and add to its reserves through July 2021.

The Finance Department also estimated that the state's unemployment rate will rise to 18 percent this fiscal year. It was 3.9 percent earlier this year, and its peak in the Great Recession was 12 percent.

The department said personal income in the state will drop by nearly 9 percent and housing construction permits will drop more than 21 percent.