Unemployment claims dropping locally since the start of the new year

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Claims for unemployment insurance were the lowest they’ve been in Whatcom County in months and the lowest they’ve been in the state since before the pandemic in the week of February 7 to February 13.

Following a recent jump in claims around the New Year due to expected seasonal effects, the number of unemployment claims filed in the county and state have declined. But according to data released by Washington’s Employment Security Department (ESD), claims are still significantly higher when compared to last year’s figures. Typically, twice as many claims are filed each week than during the corresponding week in 2020, before the pandemic.

Throughout the pandemic, the ESD has seen a correlation between restrictions and the number of claims filed. Claims hit record numbers in Washington when the state went into lockdown last spring, with one week in March totaling over 180,000 claims.

From there, claims slowly decreased into the summer, but always remained at least twice the number filed in the corresponding weeks of the prior year. In the fall, claims increased following governor Inslee’s announcement of tighter restrictions, but with the recent move into Phase 2 of the new reopening plan, claims have begun to fall again.

During the week of February 7-13, 432 initial claims were filed in the county, whereas 244 were filed in the same week in 2020. The ESD recorded 854 claims filed the week of January 3-9 versus 308 the year before.

Statewide, 13,607 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed during the week ending February 13, while less than half the number of claims were filed the year before. During the week of January 3-9, 27,147 claims were filed, triple the number filed the previous year.

“The number of claims we’re seeing are still extremely high relative to a normal period of time,” said ESD regional labor economist Anneliese Vance-Sherman.

Vance-Sherman said that while a lot of the recent spikes have been related to increased restrictions, the ESD is starting to see the influx of claims take a normal shape. “We’re working from a much more stable environment now,” she said. “The seasonal rhythm is still with us.”

With the state moving into Phase 2 of the governor’s “Roadmap to Recovery,” lifting restrictions on indoor dining to allow 25 percent capacity, Vance-Sherman said she expects to see unemployment claims continue to dip in the upcoming weeks, especially in those industries most affected by restrictions, like accommodation and the food services industry.

“But I don’t expect [the claims] to completely go away,” Vance-Sherman said. “Part of it is the policy, but part of it is the rhythm.”

In Whatcom County, 260 people who filed initial claims for unemployment insurance from February 7-13 did not disclose an industry, making up more than half of the number of claims filed. For those who did, the majority were in trade or construction. Specialty trade contractors (62 claims), building construction (17 claims) and heavy and civil engineering construction (17 claims) were the industries with the most new claims filed.

In Washington, industries are unknown in 2,432 of the claims filed that week, and an industry was not disclosed in 960 claims filed. Industries with the most claims filed were specialty trade contractors (1,522 claims), food services and drinking places (1,056 claims) and administrative and support services (843 claims).

Vance-Sherman said that although the number of claims filed for unemployment benefits may be dropping, the ESD is still receiving an almost unprecedented number of claims. “We’re just about where we were during the Great Depression, just in terms of unemployment claims,” she said.

Nationwide, in the week ending February 13, there were 861,000 claims filed, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The four-week moving average was 833,250, a decrease of 3,500 claims from the previous week. In the week ending January 9, there were 926,000 claims filed.

But Vance-Sherman offered some comforting words, “The numbers are stabilizing.”

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