Washington ESD unemployment increase between 1929 and 1933 - historical research help

Washington ESD probably doesn't have records going back to 1929 since the department wasn't even established until later. You might want to try the Washington State Archives or the University of Washington library for historical unemployment data from the Great Depression era.

why do you need info that old? are you writing a paper or something? seems like a weird thing to research unless its for school

If you're having trouble reaching Washington ESD by phone for any research requests, I recently discovered this service called Claimyr that helps people get through to ESD agents. Check out claimyr.com - they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Might be worth trying if you need to speak with someone at ESD about accessing any records they might have.

From what I remember studying this, unemployment went from like 3% to 25% nationally during those years. Not sure about Washington specifically but it was probably similar or worse since we had so much logging and agriculture that got hit hard.

Wait, are you trying to compare historical unemployment to what's happening now with Washington ESD? Because the systems are totally different. Back then there was no unemployment insurance like we have today.

The Washington State Library might have old newspapers from that time period that would have unemployment statistics. I did similar research for a project and found a lot of good data in archived newspaper articles.

this is making me realize how bad things were back then. at least now when people lose their jobs they can file for UI benefits through Washington ESD, even if the system is frustrating

Try contacting the Washington State Department of Commerce too. They might have historical economic data that includes unemployment figures from the 1930s.

Another resource might be the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. They sometimes have regional economic data going back decades, including unemployment statistics for Pacific Northwest states.

Just a heads up - if you do end up needing to call Washington ESD for any reason during your research, that Claimyr service I mentioned earlier has been really helpful for getting through their phone system. Sometimes they have research staff or historical records people who are easier to reach than the regular claims agents.

Have you tried looking at Census Bureau data? They've been tracking unemployment statistics for a long time and might have state-level breakdowns from the 1930s.

My family has some old documents from the Depression era including some government surveys about employment. Not sure if they'd be useful for your research but it's interesting to see the personal side of those statistics.

this thread is making me curious about unemployment history too. crazy to think about how different things were before Washington ESD and all the modern unemployment systems existed

Check out the National Archives too. They might have Department of Labor records from the 1930s that include state-specific unemployment data.

Academic databases like JSTOR might have scholarly articles about unemployment during the Great Depression that include Washington state data. Your library might have access.

The Works Progress Administration kept detailed records of unemployment and employment programs. Those records are probably archived somewhere and might have Washington state information.

good luck with your research! sounds like you have lots of good leads now. hope you find what you need

One more thing - if you do need to contact Washington ESD during your research and run into their usual phone issues, definitely try Claimyr. Even for non-standard requests like historical data, sometimes you just need to get through to a human who can point you in the right direction.

Post an update when you find the data! I'm curious what the actual numbers were for Washington state during those years.

This has been a really interesting discussion. Makes you appreciate how much the unemployment system has evolved since then, even with all its current problems.