Coronavirus job losses continue in Whatcom County; 15% of workforce is gone in 3 weeks
Job losses continued to surge across Washington state last week, but at a slightly slower pace than at the end of March.
In Washington 170,063 people filed for initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending April 4, according to the latest data from the Employment Security Department. That’s down from 181,975 in the previous week, but is still the second-highest weekly total the state has experienced.
In Whatcom County, 5,885 people filed claims last week, also fewer than the previous weeks’ total of 6,268. Whatcom’s three-week total for job losses is 16,581, which represents about 15% of Whatcom’s total workforce. Three weeks ago is when the statewide restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus started being put in place.
Employment Security Commissioner Suzi LeVine cautioned that the state’s decrease in jobless claims compared to the week before is not yet a trend.
“We expect to see a new surge of claims in the coming weeks,” LeVine said in a news release accompanying the data, noting that more workers will become eligible as new state and federal programs take effect.
The construction industry continued to take the biggest hit, having 24,394 initial unemployment claims filed last week across the state. Retail trade was next, followed by health care/social assistance, lodging/food service and manufacturing.
Construction was also the hardest hit sector in Whatcom County, with 911 jobless claims filed in that industry last week. Retail trade continued to shed jobs locally, with 788 filings last week. Manufacturing, which has some of the highest wages, had 644 jobless claims.
Whatcom County is expected to follow the Washington trend of seeing more claims in the coming weeks, said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, a regional labor economist for the state.
“Depending on how long the situation drags on, I expect to see continued elevated claims activity,” Vance-Sherman said.
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 10:39 AM.
