OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A massive computer programming project is putting a slight delay on some unemployment checks in Washington.
The computer work is needed because federal emergency unemployment benefits are ending. State officials scheduled it over Thanksgiving weekend to get plenty of time, but the task was so big that it’s expected to last through Tuesday.
The Employment Security Department expects to resume processing weekly unemployment claims again on Wednesday.
Washington’s latest unemployment report pegs the state jobless rate at 9.1 percent. More than 300,000 people were unemployed and looking for work last month, and more than 223,000 people were getting unemployment benefits.
