Tri-Cities builders make plea to Inslee as construction takes massive unemployment hit
Unemployment in the Tri-Cities was at a four-year low for the month of February with one of the strongest labor market growths in seven years — then the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Efforts to slow the spread of the new virus that causes COVID-19 then triggered shutdowns across the state and nation, sending unemployment claims soaring.
In the Tri-Cities, the largest bump in initial claims were seen in the restaurant and hotel industry, retail, health care, administrative services, entertainment and recreation and private educational services.
Now, the construction industry is taking a huge hit as the nonessential business restrictions take hold, according to the latest numbers released by the state.
Home and commercial construction have ground to a halt.
“The magnitude of the job and income loss in the first three weeks of the crisis is unprecedented,” said Ajsa Suljic, a regional labor economist with the Washington State Employment Security Department.
“When recessions normally start, the job loss is considered rapid as it occurs over several months, while this coronavirus crisis caused huge job losses in just three weeks,” she told the Herald.
Statewide construction had 28,021 initial claims last week, up 438 percent from the previous week.
On Friday, the Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities sent out a call for action to lobby Gov. Jay Inslee to include residential construction on the state list of essential businesses.
The association said it is drafting a letter to Inslee asking him to reconsider. “We are requesting that the governor treat home building the same as government funded construction projects,” it said.
Public infrastructure projects are considered essential work and are allowed to continue.
In the Tri-Cities, that includes construction on the Duportail bridge in south Richland that’s expected to open this fall.
Also, work is ongoing on several large school projects, including Kennewick High, the rebuild of Tapteal Elementary in Richland, Ray Reynolds Middle School and Stevens Middle School in Pasco and Columbia River Elementary in Pasco.
The HBA was pleased that Inslee delayed the implementation of the new state building codes from July 1 to Nov. 1.
Unemployment climbs
While the unemployment rate for the month of March isn’t yet available, Benton County had 4,324 initial unemployment claims for the week ending March 28, up 234% from 177 for the week ending Feb. 29.
Franklin County had 1,652 claims for the same week, up 248% from 64.
That’s a total 5,976 unemployment claims for the bicounty area as emergency orders kept businesses closed and non-essential workers at home.
“In addition to the people who’ve lost jobs, there are many people who’ve had significant drops in their hours of work, which means less income for them and their families, and many business owners have seen their incomes fall precipitately in the last three weeks,” Suljic said.
The labor force reflects those who were working and those unemployed but able to work and looking.
In the past two weeks, 7,908 Benton residents have now filed a claim after losing their jobs, which is about 7.5 percent of the total workforce.
As for Franklin residents, 2,758 have now filed a claim after losing their jobs, which is about 6.5 percent of the total workforce.
Across the state, 181,975 people filed new claims for the week ending March 28, a 41 percent jump compared to the previous week.
By comparison, this is seven times the peak week during the 2008-09 recession, which saw 26,075 weekly initial claims.
“These numbers suggest two contrasting points: 1) that more and more businesses and individuals are abiding by the ‘Stay Home, Stay Healthy’ order — which is critical for the health of our fellow Washingtonians, and 2) this virus is having a profoundly negative impact on our economic health, and that Washington businesses and workers are hurting like never before,” said Suzi LeVine, Employment Security commissioner, in a news release.
The Employment Security Department recently improved its website, esd.wa.gov, to help meet “this deluge of demand” with people filing new and continued claims. It’s adding hundreds of employees to help and expanding call center hours.
Anyone with questions about unemployment benefits eligibility and the application process can call 800-318-6022 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
This story was originally published April 4, 2020 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Tri-Cities builders make plea to Inslee as construction takes massive unemployment hit."
