Total continued jobless claims fall for 4th week in Clark County

Unemployment insurance claims in Clark County continued a four-week-long decrease for the local economy’s most telling factor: total continued unemployment insurance claims. Those claims fell to 16,354 last week from 16,406 claims the week before.

According to Scott Bailey, regional economist for Southwest Washington, Clark County saw an increase in last week’s continued Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation claims, which rose from 2,084 to 3,599. But there was a drop in the state’s extended benefits program claims, from 2,911 to 1,521 claims, which leveled out the difference.

“I think that’s because now that we’ve got the extension of PEUC wired in, we’re shifting claimants to take advantage of the federal program, so if necessary, we can move them to the state program later,” Bailey wrote in an email to The Columbian.

All industries reported a decrease in claims, he said. Accommodations and food services dropped from 1,979 to 1,858 claims last week. However, the “no-industry” category increased in claims, meaning there were claims on earnings from another state, he said.

“I’m not sure why it would jump like that, it was all in regular claims, roughly doubling the 548 regular claimants from the previous week,” he said.

For initial claims, three out of four initial claims programs saw small increases over the week, Bailey said.

“(It’s) not surprising considering it’s winter, and January and February are the high months for unemployment,” he said.