A press release from Washington State Employment Security Office.
During the week of July 11 – July 17, there were 5,061 initial regular unemployment claims (down 7.8 percent from the prior week) and 315,848 total claims for all unemployment benefit categories (down 7.2 percent from the prior week) filed by Washingtonians, according to the Employment Security Department (ESD).
- Initial regular claims applications are now 83 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 5,995 (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 sixth consecutive week initial claims have reached a new pandemic low.
- Initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which increased by 241 applications over the week, occurred in three occupations: Production, Office and Administration as well as Building and Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance
- Initial claims for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), which increased by 78 applications over the week, occurred in three service categories: Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation as well as Professional, Scientific and Technical services.
- Continued/ongoing claims for all benefits decreased over the week
- Decreases in layoffs in Educational Services and Retail Trade contributed to the decrease in regular initial claims last week.
In the week ending July 17, ESD paid out over $190 million for 235,804 individual claims.
“Since March 2020, ESD has paid more than $20 billion in benefits to over 1.1 million Washingtonians,” said ESD Commissioner Cami Feek. “This is a significant milestone and represents critical dollars that have helped individuals and families buy food, pay bills and pay their rent or mortgage during the crisis of the last sixteen months.”
| Unemployment claim type | July 11-17 | July 4-10 | June 27-July 3 |
| Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) initial claims | 5,061 | 5,488 | 5,924 |
| Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) initial claims | 1,604 | 1,363 | 1,905 |
| Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) initial claims | 543 | 465 | 451 |
| Continued/ongoing weekly claims | 308,640 | 332,888 | 334,966 |
| Total claims | 315,848 | 340,204 | 343,246 |
Note: You can find detailed claims data anytime on the ESD website.
