New jobless claims in state, Spokane County decreased last week

The number of new jobless claims in the state dropped 10% last week as fewer laid-off workers in the accommodation, food services and manufacturing sectors sought benefits, according to the Washington State Employment Security Department.

Laid-off workers in the state filed 17,596 new jobless claims for the week of Dec. 13-19, the department reported Wednesday.

More than 458,912 claims in all unemployment benefit categories were filed last week, a 6.6% drop from a week prior.

The ESD paid more than $154 million in benefits for the week ending Dec. 19. It has paid more than $13.1 billion in benefits since the beginning of the pandemic in March.

The construction sector saw the greatest number of new claims last week with 2,637.

It was followed by the accommodation and food services sector workers, who filed 2,145 claims. Those numbers represented a 31% decrease compared to the prior week.

Health care and social assistance workers filed 1,611 claims, and retail trade employees filed 1,457 new requests for benefits.

Laid-off workers in Spokane County filed 1,366 new unemployment claims the week ending Dec. 19, an 8.4% decrease compared with the 1,491 claims filed the week before, according to the employment security department.

In the county, some 192 new claims last week came from unknown professions, which have not yet been categorized into specific employment sectors.

Laid-off workers in administration and support services filed 167 claims; specialty trade contractors filed 163; and food services and drinking places workers filed 144 claims, according to ESD data.