During the week of June 27 – July 3, there were 5,924 initial regular unemployment claims (down 21.1 percent from the prior week) and 343,246 total claims for all unemployment benefit categories (down 7.0 percent from the prior week) filed by Washingtonians, according to the Employment Security Department (ESD).
- Initial regular claims applications are now 79 percent below weekly new claims applications during the same period last year during the pandemic.
- The 4-week moving average for initial claims is at 6,966 (as compared to the 4-week moving average of initial claims pre-pandemic of 6,071 initial claims). That level represents the lowest levels of initial claims for regular benefits since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, and the fourth consecutive week initial claims have reached a new pandemic low.
- Initial claims applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) increased over the week. Increases in applications from those in Management occupations as well as from Office and Administrative Support occupations drove some of the increase in PUA applications over the week.
- Initial claims applications for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) and continued/ongoing claims for all benefits decreased over the week.
- Decreases in layoffs in Accommodation and Food Services and Construction contributed to the decrease in regular initial claims last week.
In the week ending July 3, ESD paid out over $221 million for 268,719 individual claims. Since the crisis began in March 2020, ESD has paid more than $19.7 billion in benefits to over a million Washingtonians.
| Unemployment claim type | June 27-July 3 | June 20-26 | June 13-19 |
| Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) initial claims | 5,924 | 7,505 | 7,544 |
| Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) initial claims | 1,905 | 1,663 | 1,581 |
| Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) initial claims | 451 | 1,233 | 1,455 |
| Continued/ongoing weekly claims | 334,966 | 358,555 | 364,230 |
| Total claims | 343,246 | 368,956 | 374,810 |
Note: You can find detailed claims data anytime on the ESD website.
