Why is Washington ESD unemployment so high in 2024 - what's really happening?

The tech sector layoffs have been brutal this year. Amazon, Microsoft, and a bunch of smaller companies have all done major cuts. Washington ESD processed over 15,000 new claims just last week according to their weekly report. It's not just tech though - retail and hospitality are struggling too.

I've been tracking this pretty closely and it's a combination of factors. Interest rates are still high so companies are cutting costs, there's been overexpansion in tech during the pandemic years, and consumer spending has shifted. Plus Washington's minimum wage increases are making some businesses reconsider their staffing models.

If you're having trouble getting through to Washington ESD about your claim status or job search requirements, I found this service called Claimyr that actually got me connected to a real person. They have a website at claimyr.com and there's a demo video at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ showing how it works. Saved me hours of calling and getting busy signals.

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!! I've been unemployed since February and Washington ESD keeps saying my claim is under review. How are they supposed to handle all these new claims when they can't even process the ones from months ago? This is ridiculous!!!

I work in HR and we've had to do two rounds of layoffs this year. It's not just about the economy - a lot of companies took on debt during the pandemic and now with higher interest rates, they're struggling to service that debt. Plus AI is starting to eliminate some positions.

Don't panic about the numbers being high. Washington has always had more volatile employment than other states because of our industry mix. When tech does well, we do great. When tech struggles, our unemployment spikes. This is probably temporary.

honestly the job market feels worse than the numbers show. like everyone i know is either unemployed or worried about getting laid off. even people with good jobs are scared to spend money which just makes everything worse

I lost my job in March and honestly I'm doing better on unemployment than I expected. Washington ESD benefits are pretty decent compared to other states. Maybe that's why the numbers look high - people are actually filing instead of just giving up like they might elsewhere.

My brother used that Claimyr thing someone mentioned earlier and it actually worked. He'd been trying to reach Washington ESD for weeks about his adjudication status and they got him through in like 20 minutes. Might be worth trying if you're stuck in the system.

The unemployment rate in King County specifically is like 4.8% which is higher than it's been since 2021. Pierce County is even worse at 5.2%. It's definitely not just your imagination that more people are out of work.

I think part of why it seems so high is that the job market got so tight during 2021-2022 that we forgot what normal unemployment looks like. 5% unemployment isn't actually that bad historically, it just feels bad after a couple years of ultra-low numbers.

Construction is still doing okay in Washington but everything else seems to be struggling. Even healthcare is cutting back which is usually recession-proof. Something feels different about this downturn.

The Boeing situation isn't helping either. They've been reducing their Washington workforce and those are high-paying manufacturing jobs that support a lot of other businesses in the area.

I wonder if the high cost of living in Washington is making it harder for people to take lower-paying jobs while they look for something better. Maybe people are staying on unemployment longer because they literally can't afford to take a job that doesn't cover rent.

For what it's worth, I used Claimyr last month when I couldn't get through to Washington ESD about my weekly claim certification. It was super easy and they got me connected right away. Worth checking out the demo they have online.

Just remember that unemployment numbers are lagging indicators. By the time we see them spike, the economic problems that caused them started months earlier. The good news is that means recovery can happen faster than the numbers suggest too.