A break for unemployed Washingtonians has been extended through early November
During the pandemic, job searches have been optional under the Washington state’s Employment Security Department rules for helping slow the spread of coronavirus.
On Thursday, ESD announced that its job search waiver continues through Nov. 9.
According to ESD’s update: “The governor, with support from the Legislature, has announced that job search requirements will remain suspended through Nov. 9. This means the soonest claimants will be required to actively seek work is Nov. 15.”
It added, “You can continue to answer ‘no’ to the job search question on your weekly claim until the suspension is lifted.”
The job search requirement was first suspended in March.
While statewide COVID-19 numbers are down from the summer peaks, the state Department of Health on Sept. 22 described Washington’s COVID-19 transmission rate at a crossroads.
“In parts of the state, declines have stagnated, suggesting we may need to redouble efforts to encourage risk-reducing behaviors. These plateaus have become prominent in Pierce, Spokane, Clark, Benton and Franklin, and they raise cause for concern as risk may increase going into the fall.”
During the “optional” job search phase, ESD still encourages job seekers to participate in online training to gain new skills and/or participate in virtual job fairs.
According to ESD’s weekly report Thursday, initial regular claims applications “remain at elevated levels and are at 237 percent above last year’s weekly new claims applications.”
Statewide, during the week ending Sept. 26, there were 17,734 initial regular unemployment claims (down 9.4 percent from the prior week) and 530,360 total claims for all unemployment benefit categories (down 1.8 percent from the prior week).
In Pierce County, initial regular claims filed decreased from 2,426 to 2,151, down 11 percent from the week before.
On Wednesday, the department announced there would not be a solvency tax for employers in 2021, “based on a higher than expected unemployment trust fund balance at the end of September.”
“At this time, due to improved economic forecasting, it is also projected that the state will not need to take out federal loans to continue paying unemployment benefits in 2021, as was previously anticipated,” according to the department.
By state law, ESD is required to impose the 0.2% solvency tax on businesses if the trust fund is projected to fall below seven months of benefits, according to its announcement Wednesday.
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 4:30 PM.
