SEATTLE — New unemployment claims in Washington jumped last week, but the numbers are still running below what the state typically saw from seasonal job losses before the pandemic.
Washingtonians filed 5,996 new, or “initial,” claims for jobless benefits last week, up 9.7 percent from the prior week, according to data posted Thursday by the Employment Security Department.
That increase contrasted with a decline nationally: U.S. claims dropped 1.5 percent to 267,000 last week, the fewest since the pandemic started last year, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
But the number of new claims filed last week in Washington is 23 percent lower than were filed the same week in 2019, even though autumn tends to bring an increase in claims, said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, an ESD regional labor economist who covers the Seattle area.
That discrepancy may reflect the lingering effects of pandemic-related government policies, including extra unemployment benefits, Vance-Sherman said.
