Family Security

EMPLOYMENT SECURITY

Over 90,000 people applied for unemployment benefits in December – a 92 percent increase in unemployment claims since this time last year. The latest figures show Washington’s unemployment rate at 7.1 percent is the highest it has been since the high-tech bubble burst. 

Senate Democrats agree with the Governor that the robust health of the unemployment insurance trust fund provides us with an investment tool to stimulate the economy. We are proposing Senate Bill 5319, which provides a $45 increase in weekly unemployment benefits to directly and quickly help our neighbors who have lost their jobs. Studies have shown that an increase in unemployment benefits induces spending by unemployed workers, and keeps our economy moving.

The bill also:

* Helps 70,000 workers stay in their jobs by expanding our state’s Shared Work Program. This program pays unemployment benefits to workers who have had their hours cut, keeping workers’ paychecks consistent and employers’ workforces strong.

* Expands access to state employment and training programs, which provide unemployment benefits to dislocated workers. We propose opening the program to disabled workers, honorably discharged military personnel and low income workers.

"These proposals put money directly in people’s pockets, and help ensure that families already coping with being unemployed or underemployed don’t have to choose between heating their homes or buying groceries while trying to get back to work." - Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle

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