Clark County unemployment claims drop

Initial unemployment insurance claims in Clark County fell 25 percent from 1,086 to 818 last week, continuing a recovery of the local job market.

Clark County outpaced most counties with the drop in initial claims.

King County fell by 19 percent, Pierce County dropped by 14 percent, Snohomish dropped by 20 percent and Spokane County fell by 15 percent.

“They dropped quite a bit,” said Scott Bailey, regional economist for Southwest Washington. “It’s a little bit more of stabilizing to a new normal.”

Continued regular unemployment claims also fell last week — by 4 percent, from 11,109 to 10,650.

Extended benefit claims from the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, or PEUC, program rose slightly from 1,139 to 1,237.

“That’s been the trend in that category,” Bailey said. “Some people have shifted from regular to extended because they have exhausted their benefits.”

Initial claims for the recreation industry in Clark County fell from 59 to 16 claims, although the numbers were relatively small compared to other industries. Those jobs come from places including casinos, cardrooms, golf courses, fitness centers and bowling alleys.

The state had a 16 percent drop last week to 18,389 initial regular unemployment claims.

Regular Unemployment Insurance, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, or PEUC, initial claims and continuing claims all fell too in Washington.