New jobless claims rise in the state, Spokane County

The number of new weekly jobless claims in the state and Spokane County increased last week, according to the Washington state Employment Security Department.

Laid-off workers in the state filed 16,605 new jobless claims the week ending May 8, a 58% increase compared with 10,507 claims the week before, the department reported Thursday.

The increase in new claims was associated with a change in the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program’s application process that required some applicants to be moved to the correct unemployment claim program, according to the ESD.

Increases in layoffs in the public administration, retail trade, and health care and social assistance sectors also contributed to the increase in new claims last week.

Laid-off workers in Spokane County filed 1,119 new unemployment claims the week ending May 8, compared with 638 claims filed the week before, according to the employment security department.