Washington Unemployment Edges Closer To Pre-Pandemic Normals

OLYMPIA, WA — Despite a troubling spike in new COVID-19 infections, Washington's unemployment rate continues to improve.

According to the latest calculations from Washington State's Employment Security Department (ESD) in July, the state added a total of 22,700 new jobs, and pushed the unemployment rate down to 5.1 percent.

That's only a slight improvement over May and June, where the employment rate stalled at 5.2 percent, but brings the state just that much closer to pre-pandemic levels. In the six months leading up to the beginning of the pandemic, the unemployment rate hovered between 4.1 and 3.9 percent.

Notably, a 5.1 percent unemployment rate is better than what Washington saw at the beginning of the pandemic: In March 2020 the unemployment rate jumped to 5.3 percent, just before lockdown and mass layoffs sent the unemployment rate skyrocketing to 16.3 percent in April.

The 5.1 unemployment rate is also better than the nationwide average, which is currently 5.4 percent, per Statista.

However, ESD analysts warn that the rising tide of new COVID-19 infections could cause unemployment to rise once again.

“The state’s job market recovery has gathered considerable momentum this summer” said Paul Turek, economist for the ESD. “But while additional progress over the next month is a reasonable expectation, the rise of the Delta variant could mute some of the rebound.”

The spread of the delta variant has Washington seeing some of the highest case rates and hospital admission numbers since the record-breaking third wave of infections last December. The state has not announced plans to re-impose lockdowns or other COVID safety regulations, but those restrictions are on the table if the situation worsens.

The ESD says the three industries that made the largest gains from July 2020 to July 2021 were:

• Leisure and hospitality, which added 59,400 jobs.
• Professional and business services, adding 32,600 jobs.
• Education and health services, up 27,100 jobs.

The only industry that shrunk over the past year was manufacturing, which lost 10,100 jobs from July to July.

Meanwhile, the federal government's expanded pandemic unemployment benefits are set to expire next month. The week ending Sept. 4 will be the last week unemployment recipients can receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation. That week will also be when the ESD cuts off the additional $300 that claimants had been receiving during the pandemic.

>> Learn more about how unemployment payments are changing from the Employment Security Department.