Unemployment claims drop again

OLYMPIA - The 5,357 unemployment claims for Aug. 15-21 was a drop of 3.1% from the prior week.

Total claims filed for all unemployment benefits numbered 275,558, down 3.5% from the prior week, according to the state Unemployment Security Department.

Regular claim applications are 71% below the same week a year ago during the pandemic.

Federal pandemic benefits programs, such as the additional $300 per week, are set to expire the week ending Sept. 4.

As of Aug. 21, the state paid more than $164 million for 204,343 people. Since the crisis began in March 2020, the state paid more than $20.9 billion in benefits to more than 1.1 million unemployed people.