Coronavirus-related layoffs bring surge of unemployment claims in Washington state

OLYMPIA – New unemployment claims in the state of Washington have increased more than 116% during the week of March 8-14 and in some industries, that number is even higher.

According to new numbers released by the Employment Security Department, 14,154 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed, which was an increase of 7,606 new claims compared to the previous week.

In Washington, the highest percentage of new claims filed during March 8-14 over the previous week occurred in the food services sector, up 597.3%. Claims in educational services were up 569.5%, arts, entertainment, and recreation claims were up 255.8% and real estate, rental and leasing claims were up 147.5%.

Individuals 34 years of age and younger represented the largest group of workers filing new claims.

“A dramatically larger number of employers are announcing coronavirus-related layoffs or are utilizing SharedWork, so we anticipate substantially higher numbers of new claims in the report that will come out on March 26,” ESD Commissioner Suzi LeVine said in a press release. “Already this week, we have seen the daily rate of new claims coming in at levels that are similar to the highest weeks of the 2008-2009 recession. Our agency is working in close coordination with the Governor’s office as well as other state and federal agencies to ensure we do everything we can to address this crisis and find every support possible for Washington families and the economy. Our priorities are to get benefits out more quickly to those who are eligible, help more people become eligible for benefits and help those employers who are hiring get the staff they need right now.”

Inslee also announced a number of measures on Wednesday to provide relief for businesses, workers, and renters, which can be found HERE.

The following chart was also provided to give a look at the number of claims seen in different industries: