New jobless claims rise slightly in Spokane County, state

New jobless claims in Spokane County increased slightly last week, but remain below pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the Washington state Employment Security Department.

Laid-off workers in the county filed 285 new claims during the week ending July 31, compared with 259 claims filed the week before, the department reported Thursday.

New unemployment claims in the state rose to 4,919 in the week ending July 31, an 8% increase in applications compared with 4,554 from the week before, according to the ESD.

Continued claims in all unemployment categories decreased 0.9% with 308,266 applications filed last week.

Layoffs in agriculture and construction contributed to an increase of 365 new claims last week, according to the ESD.

The ESD paid out more than $188 million in benefits last week.