The recession was one of the more prominent news stories of 2009, with good reason: more Washingtonians were unemployed, more received unemployment benefits and more sought job-search assistance than ever before.
According to the State Employment Security Department, about 475,000 Washingtonians received unemployment benefits in 2009, compared to 290,000 in 2008. The agency paid nearly $4 billion in unemployment benefits in 2009, compared to $1.2 billion in 2008 and $725 million in 2007.
Although Employment Security more than doubled the size of its unemployment-claims staff since the recession began, employees at the call centers worked about 65,000 hours of overtime last year to handle the dramatically increased workload.
Approximately 410,000 job seekers received employment counseling and assistance through local WorkSource centers in 2009, compared to about 275,000 in 2008. WorkSource is a statewide partnership of Employment Security and other state government, local government and nonprofit agencies that provide a comprehensive array of employment and training services to job seekers and employers.
“This recession has shown how valuable it is to have a solvent unemployment insurance system that not only helps families pay their bills, but also sustains the local businesses where they spend their benefits,” Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee said. “Without the $4 billion we paid out in benefits last year, the recession would have had a bigger toll on our state.”
There was some good news to report. Unemployment-insurance tax rates in 2009 were the lowest in 40 years, with an average rate of 1.55 percent. The last time employers faced an unemployment-tax increase was in 2004, as the state emerged from the last recession.
A record number of businesses turned to Employment Security’s Shared-Work Program in 2009 as a way to reduce payroll costs and avoid layoffs. The number of employers and employees approved to participate in the program topped 2,700 and 47,000, respectively, compared to a peak of about 150 employers and 5,700 employees in 2008.
A study by Employment Security economists concluded that unemployed workers who used WorkSource job-search services found jobs faster and, as a result, earned more money than those who didn’t seek WorkSource assistance.
“We are seeing a lot more people who have never lost their jobs before,” Lee said. “A lot of them need help learning how to look for work, and many will need to switch to a new occupation. WorkSource provides counseling, information and training services that are vital to job seekers in this economy.”
Commenting rules
Tacoma Weekly is happy to provide a forum for commenting and discussion. Please respect and abide by the house rules:
Keep it clean, keep it civil, keep it truthful, stay on topic, be responsible, share your knowledge, and please suggest removal of comments that violate these standards.
Read full commenting rules