Initial jobless claims continue to decline across state, Spokane County

The number of people in Washington filing for unemployment benefits for the first time seems to be plateauing as it declined by 1.2% last week, according to data from the state Employment Security Department.

The total number of claims in the state was down 1.4% last week.

This is the seventh week in a row that statewide initial jobless claims have decreased, but numbers are still about 270% higher than last year’s weekly new claim applications, according to the department.

The department paid more than $178.9 million in jobless benefits for the week ending in Aug. 29 – a decrease of $3.5 million.

Accommodation and food services, health care and social assistance, education services, construction, and retail trade remain the industries experiencing the highest number of claims.

In Spokane County, initial claims decreased last week by 2%, down to 1,040 from 1,057 the week prior. Continued claims in Spokane also declined, with the total number now at 13,611. The peak number in May was 36,112.

There are still thousands of people unemployed, said Doug Tweedy, regional economist for the employment security department, but fewer people are newly unemployed.

The numbers are still high compared with previous years, Tweedy said.

“I think we will continue to decrease,” Tweedy said. “It’s a good signal for the future.”

Idaho down 3%

New jobless claims in Idaho declined in the week ending Aug. 29, dropping 3% from a week prior, according to the Idaho Department of Labor.

Laid-off workers in Idaho filed 3,686 new claims last week, the department said Thursday.

Manufacturing combined with health care and social assistance represented 24% of new claims filed last week. Accommodation and food services and retail trade represented 11%. Construction as well as administrative and support services each represented 10%.

The state has paid more than $804 million in benefits since the pandemic intensified in mid-March, the labor department said.