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Wash. State Promotes Partial Jobless Benefits Program

State’s Shared-Work Program allows Washington businesses to cut full-time employees’ hours by as much as 50 percent and workers to qualify for partial unemployment benefits.

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) -- Several years ago, Cal Yates had as much as 20 percent of his hours cut at the metal fabrication shop where he works as a welder. The move came during a tough four-month stretch when one of the shop's biggest clients, a local RV manufacturer, closed its doors.

But because his shop, ASAP Metal Fabricators, had voluntarily signed up for a state program, Yates was able to collect partial unemployment benefits to balance the lost pay.

State officials were in Yakima on Monday to push that Shared-Work Program, which is seeing a marked increase in interest from businesses struggling to stay afloat in a recession.

"Every day we're hearing about another business that is laying off employees," said Paul Trause, assistant commissioner for the state Employment Security Department. "We know that we can't prevent every layoff, but it's important that employers are aware of their options."

Washington's unemployment rate jumped more than half a percentage point to 6.3 percent in October -- the highest rate in about four years. Weakness across all economic sectors contributed.

Most people expect those numbers to rise again when jobless numbers for November are released next week, Trause said.

Those layoffs hurt families, companies that want to retain skilled workers and remain in business long term, and communities that rely on a healthy business sector, he said. This program helps address all those needs, aiding everyone during tough economic times.

Under the program, companies can reduce the hours of full-time, hourly employees by as much as 50 percent; the workers then may qualify for partial unemployment benefits to replace some of their lost wages.

Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the state had an all-time high of 15,000 employees from 500 companies signed up for the program. Roughly the same number of employees are signed up today, but from just 400 companies.

The Employment Security Department also processed a record number of applications for the program in the past two months: 183 businesses in October, followed by 170 in November.

The previous high was 70 businesses in January 2003.

Already this year, the state has paid out more than $4 million through the program, up from $1.1 million in 2007. But state officials say the amount of unemployment benefits paid out overall would be higher if not for the program.

Terry Schweyen started ASAP Metal Fabricators, a custom shop, in 1988. This quarter, business is down about 30 percent, with some clients delaying orders or canceling them altogether.

He recently cut his overnight shift, raising concerns for his 40 full-time employees -- down from a high of about 60 workers years ago.

"This last quarter, it was like somebody locked the doors and shut off the phones," he said. "This program lets me keep my key people -- a lot of the trained people who have the skillsets I need -- until things pick up," he said.

For Yates, Schweyen's welder of 15 years, the fact that he didn't have to make a major sacrifice personally when his hours were temporarily reduced several years ago "was huge." He's hoping for the same result this time around, if cuts are again necessary.

"In the 1980s, I worked in the steel industry in Spokane," he said. "Had they been aware that this program was around then, I could still be in Spokane."

The Washington program was created in 1983.

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