New jobless claims drop for fourth consecutive week in Spokane County

New jobless claims in Spokane County declined for the fourth consecutive week, according to the Washington state Employment Security Department.

Laid-off workers in the county filed 406 new claims the week ending June 12, compared with 607 claims filed the week before, a drop of roughly 33%, the department reported Thursday.

New unemployment claims in the state dropped to 6,892 in the week ending June 12, a 22.3% decrease in applications compared with 8,868 from the week before, according to the ESD.

Continued claims in all unemployment categories decreased 0.7% with 383,776 applications filed last week.

Decreases in layoffs in the retail trade, manufacturing, and administrative and support services sectors contributed to the drop in new state claims last week.