Unemployment claims down again

OLYMPIA - Unemployment claims continue to drop as they are down 10.8% from last week.

Total claims filed by Washingtonians for all unemployment benefit categories numbered 86,615, which is down 10.8% from the prior week. Initial regular claims applications are 69% below compared to the same period last year during the pandemic, according to the Employment Security Department (ESD).

There were decreases in layoffs in accommodation and food services and retail trade jobs.

Federal benefit programs, including Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) as well as the additional $300 per week for most claimants, expired Sept. 4.

In the week ending Oct. 2, the ESD paid more than $35 million for 35,580 individual claims. Since the crisis began in March 2020, ESD paid more than $21.4 billion in benefits to more than 1.2 million Washingtonians.