Regular unemployment claims up slightly

OLYMPIA — A total of 143,403 initial regular claims marked a 3.2 percent uptick from last week in Washington.

For all claims, in all unemployment benefit categories, the number was 462,218, a weekly increase of 3.3 percent.

All statistics are according to the Employment Security Department (ESD).

The increases are attributed to layoffs in agriculture, construction and accommodation and food services.

Overall, Washington initial regular claims are at 155 percent above last year at this time for new weekly claims applications.

For the week ending Feb. 20, ESD paid $249 million for 315,508 individual claims.

Since the virus crisis began last March, ESD has paid more than $15 billion in benefits, going out to more than 1 million Washington residents.