New weekly jobless claims in state, Spokane County increase slightly

New jobless claims in the state increased slightly last week as seasonal layoffs increased in the construction and educational services sectors, according to the Washington state Employment Security Department.

Laid-off workers filed 11,445 new jobless claims the week ending March 27, a 0.5% increase compared with the week before, the ESD reported Thursday.

Continued claims in all unemployment categories dropped 1.3% with 430,077 applications filed during the week ending March 27.

New claims are 94% below the amount of applications filed during the same time last year, according to the ESD.

The ESD paid more than $274.6 million in benefits last week. It has paid $16.3 billion in benefits since the pandemic’s onset in the state last year.

Workers in the construction sector filed the greatest number of new claims in the state last week, with 1,846, followed by those in accommodations and food services, with 1,088.

Retail trade employees filed 1,065 claims.

Spokane County

Laid-off workers in Spokane County filed 682 new unemployment claims the week ending March 27, compared with 666 claims filed the week before, according to the employment security department.

In the county, 330 new claims last week were from undisclosed professions that have not been categorized into specific industry sectors.

Workers categorized as specialty trade contractors filed 76 new jobless claims in the county last week. Those in the food services and drinking places sector filed 60, and in the social assistance sector, 42.

The professional and technical services, and ambulatory health care services sectors each saw 20 new claims filed.