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In Washington 43,352 filed initial claims for unemployment insurance last week

This morning the state Employment Security Department (ESD) gave its weekly report on unemployment insurance claims. ESD reported a total of 43,352 initial claims for unemployment insurance during the July 2–18 week. Of this total, 29,438 initial claims were under the regular unemployment insurance program; 6,827 claims were under the federal pandemic unemployment assistance program, […]

Nationwide, 1,416,000 filed for unemployment insurance last week

The U.S. Department of Labor issued its weekly report on initial claims for unemployment insurance this morning. Nationwide, the number of seasonally adjusted claims was 1,416,000 last week. This is 109,000 more than the (upwardly revised) number of claims for the previous week, 1,307,000. The 4-week moving average of seasonally adjusted claims was 1,360,250, down […]

Initial claims by sector

Here are two charts presenting initial claims for unemployment insurance by sector in Washington state for the four-week period from June 14 to July 11. The first chart shows the number of claims by sector. The five sectors with the greatest number of claims are, in descending order, accommodation and food services; health services and […]

Good news on state tax collections in June

Today’s monthly report from state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (ERFC) on general fund revenue collections brought some good news. For the sales tax, the use tax, the business and occupation tax, the public utility tax, the tobacco products tax, and penalties and interest (collectively the Revenue Act receipts), this report covers payments received between […]

In Washington 59,388 filed initial claims for unemployment insurance last week

This morning the state Employment Security Department (ESD) gave its weekly report on unemployment insurance claims. A note of caution about initial claims numbers: In May, Washington’s unemployment insurance system was hit by a rash of fraudulent claims (press release here). ESD has estimated that the value paid out for fraudulent claims is in the […]

Nationwide, 1,300,000 filed for unemployment insurance last week

The U.S. Department of Labor issued its weekly report on initial claims for unemployment insurance this morning. Nationwide, the number of seasonally adjusted claims was 1,300,000 last week. This is 10,000 less than the (downwardly revised) number of claims for the previous week, 1,310,000. The 4-week moving average of seasonally adjusted claims was 1,375,000, down […]

Initial claims by sector

Here are two charts presenting initial claims for unemployment insurance by sector in Washington state for the four-week period from June 7 to July 4. The first chart shows the number of claims by sector. The five sectors with the greatest number of claims are, in descending order, health services and social assistance; accommodation and […]

In Washington 48,471 filed initial claims for unemployment insurance last week

This morning the state Employment Security Department (ESD) gave its weekly report on unemployment insurance claims. A note of caution about initial claims numbers: In May, Washington’s unemployment insurance system was hit by a rash of fraudulent claims (press release here). ESD has estimated that the value paid out for fraudulent claims is in the […]

Nationwide, 1,314,000 filed for unemployment insurance last week

The U.S. Department of Labor issued its weekly report on initial claims for unemployment insurance this morning. Nationwide, the number of seasonally adjusted claims was 1,314,000 last week. This is 99,000 less than the (downwardly revised) number of claims for the previous week, 1,413,000. The 4-week moving average of seasonally adjusted claims was 1,437,250, down […]

Washington businesses expect to retain 906,622 jobs due to paycheck protection loans

New figures from the U.S. Treasury Department show that businesses in Washington received a total of 101,049 loans through the paycheck protection program (PPP) through June 30. The total amount loaned to Washington businesses was $12.302 billion. According to Treasury, 74 percent of small business payroll in Washington was covered by PPP loans. Treasury also […]