Unemployment claims decreased in all categories in the latest figures reported by the Washington State Unemployment Security Department.

During the week of July 12 through July 18, there were 29,438 initial regular unemployment claims (down 27.3% from the prior week) and 673,444 total claims for all unemployment benefit categories (down 4.7% from the prior week) filed by Washington residents, the department said.

Initial regular claims applications remain at unprecedented elevated levels, the department said, with new claims applications at 536% above last year’s weekly total. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation initial claims, as well as continued/ongoing claims, all decreased over the previous week.

In Snohomish County, initial regular claims filed decreased from 4,614 to 3,499, down 24% from the week before.

The department paid out over $493.6 million for 430,737 individual claims — an increase of $4.8 million and 7,193 more individuals compared to the prior week.

Since the week ending March 7 when COVID-19 job losses began:

• A total of 2,311,878 initial claims have been filed during the pandemic (1,457,223 regular unemployment insurance, 458,034 PUA and 396,621 PEUC)
• A total of 1,271,260 distinct individuals have filed for unemployment benefits
• ESD has paid out over $8.1 billion in benefits
• 945,044 individuals who have filed an initial claim have been paid

“This past week, for the first time since the pandemic began, all initial claim types as well as continued and ongoing weekly claims decreased,” said ESD Commissioner, Suzi LeVine. “We are making excellent progress on our efforts to resolve the claims for those who have been waiting the longest, having reduced that backlog by nearly 75 percent.”

Those looking to return to work, or who can’t yet return due to the crisis, are encouraged to visit the return to work and refusal of work pages on the department website for the latest information. Both job seekers and employers should also go to WorkSourceWa.com for job postings, employment resources and virtual services – including  virtual job fairs, which directly connect job seekers and employers across the state.

Below is a 20-week summary of statewide initial claims filed since the start of the COVID-19 crisis:

Weekly data breakdown

By industry

Industry sectors experiencing the highest number of initial claims during July 12- July 18 were:

• Accommodation and food services: 2,987 initial regular claims, down 1,547 (-34%) from previous week
• Health care and social assistance: 2,902 initial regular claims, down 483 (-14%) from the previous week
• Manufacturing: 2,480 regular initial claims, down 472 (-16%) from the previous week
• Retail trade: 2,339 initial regular claims, down 684 (-23%) from previous week
• Construction: 2,217 initial regular claims, down 509 (-19%) from the previous week 

By occupation

• Management occupations: 3,315 regular initial claims, down 1,112 (-25%) from the previous week
• Food preparation and serving: 3,269 regular initial claims, down 1,514 (-32%) from previous week
• Office and administrative support: 2,825 regular initial claims, down 543 (-16%) from previous week
• Construction and extraction occupations: 2,535 regular initial claims, down 972 (-28%) from the previous week
• Sales and related occupations: 2,144 regular initial claims, down 903 (-30%) from the previous week

Demographic breakdown 

During the week of July 12- July 18:

• By gender: 50.3% (14,752) of the initial regular claims were filed by females while 49.3% (14,467) were filed by males
• By age group: 27.5% (8,068) of initial regular claims were filed by the 25-34 years old age group, followed by 21.2% (6,208) by the 35-44 years old age group and 16.7% (4,905) by the 45-54 years old age group.
• By education level: 31.4% (9,206) of initial regular claims were filed by individuals with a high school diploma, included GED, followed by 24.4% (7,164) with some college and 14.7% (4,306) with a bachelor’s degree.
• By race/ethnicity: 59.8% (17,552) of initial regular claims were filed by Caucasians, followed by 7.8% (2,303) filed by Asians, 6.8% filed by Black/African Americans (2,006) and 6.4% filed by Latino/Hispanics (1,873).
• By disability status: 3.2% (951) of initial regular claims were from individuals identified as having a disability, including 0.7% (220) who identified themselves as disabled veterans.
• By veteran’s status: 4.9% (1,426) of initial regular claims were filed by veterans, including 144 initial regular claims from individuals eligible for veterans benefits due to family relations with a veteran.