Fewer Washingtonians filed for jobless benefits last week than the week before, but those who did faced possible delays in a second round of emergency federal benefits after President Donald Trump demanded last-minute changes in the legislation.
“You can’t cut the checks … until everything is signed, sealed and delivered,” said state Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, chair of the committee that oversees the state unemployment system. “And if the president doesn’t sign [the stimulus bill] that means we’re going to get delayed even longer.”
The uncertainty comes as Washingtonians filed 17,596 new, or “initial,” claims for regular unemployment benefits last week, a decrease of nearly 10% from the previous week, the state Employment Security Department (ESD) reported Wednesday. The claims data, normally released Thursday, posted early because of the Christmas holiday.
