As the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic continues, the workforce system continues to see large impacts.
Current state
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Business Services team has been contacted by 45 businesses considering layoffs or work-hour reductions or who have already made the difficult decision to temporarily lay off workers. The largest number of companies are in construction and close behind are manufacturers, wholesale trade, information, healthcare, and accommodation and food services.
This week, our team has been coming to terms with the fact that there may not be a huge need by essential industries to hire temporary workers. In total, our team has been contacted by seven companies with immediate job openings:
Top questions companies are asking us:
- If I lay off workers now, how will it affect my ability to qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program?
- Can those who are self-employed or work in the gig economy apply for unemployment insurance benefits now?
Trends reports from JobsEQ show a significant decrease in online job postings:
WorkSource and Next continue to provide services virtually to adults and youth and are assisting customers via phone, email and video meetings.
- Staff seem to have found a rhythm with working remotely and are doing a great job staying connected with one another through several virtual platforms.
- WSW issued a technical guidance memo late last week that gives some additional assistance to staff regarding service delivery during this time.
- WSW and our WorkSource partners played an integral role in helping ESD launch statewide workshop offerings and two of our local staff will be teaching statewide virtual workshops.
- Staff from multiple departments have been trained on how to answer basic unemployment insurance (UI) questions and a new phone number was implemented to field UI questions.
- The team developed and has implemented a communication plan to inform customers about the move to virtual service delivery via Facebook posts and events, Facebook Live streaming, targeted emails, partner communication, and website presence.
“I can’t tell you what a breath of fresh air it was to have an actual seminar/webinar to look forward to in the middle of all these long hours at home avoiding the coronavirus! I know it wasn’t the easiest or the best of all platforms for presenting your material, but still you were able to get information out to a lot of us–maybe even a wider reach than if you had done it in person.”
– WorkSource customer in SW WA
- No new youth enrollments. Staff continue to support currently enrolled youth with virtual workshops and by expanding virtual services to Cowlitz County.
- Service delivery for Title I youth is a challenge because of required paperwork and personal identifiable information. Working to find a solution to do this virtually.
- Job Corps services have been canceled leaving some students displaced. Staff are looking for temporary work projects for these students.
- CNA (certified nurse assistant) online learning is taking place and 10 students have completed the training.
- Students are enrolled in Childcare Academy for those 18-24 years old and will receive STARS certificates that are required for work in a licensed or family child care center.
- Open Doors GED/HS classes are currently on hold. Students are able to take online prep courses but the text is not available virtually.
What we learned on 4.2.20
Summary of new UI claimants increases between week 11 (3/15-21/2020) and week 12 (3/22-3/28). Week 10 was 3/8-3/14/20.
Clark County saw an increase of 38.6% in UI Claimants between week 11 & 12
Week 10: 373 Claimants
Week 11: 6,249 Claimants
Week 12: 8,661 Claimants
Cowlitz County saw an increase of 43.8% in UI Claimants between week 11 &12
Week 10: 129 Claimants
Week 11: 1,458 Claimants
Week 12: 2,096 Claimants
Wahkiakum County saw an increase of 29.6% between week 11 & 12
Week 10: 3 Claimants
Week 11: 19 Claimants
Week 12: 27 Claimants
Washington State saw an increase of 36.3% between week 11 & 12
Week 10: 14,154 Claimants
Week 11: 133,464 Claimants
Week 12: 181,975 Claimants
By industry (Washington State, county data coming soon)
Major industry sectors experiencing the highest percentage increase of initial claims March 22-28 were:
- Construction: 28,021 initial claims, up 438% from the previous week
- Wholesale trade: 5,207 initial claims, up 166% from the previous week
- Manufacturing: 13,967 initial claims, up 165% from the previous week
- Retail trade: 22,002 initial claims, up 153% from the previous week
System priorities
- Businesses – As more and more businesses start seeing the financial and economic impact of COVID-19 we are working locally and with the state to ensure we are ready to respond to business needs promptly and consistently. Many of the programs offered through the Employment Security Department (ESD) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) are changing rapidly, for the better, so we’re doing our best to stay on top of the latest information. Our business team is communicating with companies daily to provide them with the services they need during these challenging times. Our team is also working closely with our partners at ESD and Labor & Industries (L&I) to make connections for businesses in need of resources.
What our team is doing and working towards
- The Washington Workforce Association has convened a statewide team of business services leaders from each WDC to create a solution to provide single-point-of-contact access to the public workforce system and align service delivery for statewide employers (examples: Providence, Boeing, etc.) and to flesh out the details to provide quick job matching services virtually to both businesses and job seekers. The details of these opportunities will be released in next week’s impact report.
- The WorkSource team is working on making as much as possible available in Spanish and Russian.
- We continue to refine processes and troubleshoot as issues come up, whether technical or otherwise.
- Members of the team continue to participate on the statewide “Virtual WorkSource” work group and share best practices regarding effective online workshop delivery.
As we continue advocating on behalf of impacted businesses and individuals in Clark, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties, please reach out if we can assist you.
Sincerely,
Kevin Perkey
Chief Executive Officer
