Submitted by Nell Gross
on
This Labor Day, I am grateful to have a job, and I am deeply grateful for the labor of essential workers.
The COVID-19 pandemic means tens of thousands of Washingtonians are unexpectedly finding themselves out of work. In King County, more than 460,000 people have filed an initial unemployment claim since early March. The July data show an unemployment rate of 8.3% (in July 2019 it was 3%). High unemployment means more families face this Labor Day struggling to feed themselves, pay bills and make rent.