OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – One in five workers in Washington have filed unemployment benefit claims since March, and nearly $1.5 billion in benefits have been paid out in that time frame, including federal money that has increased weekly payments in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Employment Security Department Commissioner Suzi LeVine said that of the 787,533 people who have filed for benefits since March 7, more than half a million who have filed an initial claim since the pandemic began have been paid.

Last week alone, more than $988 million was paid out, a weekly amount that LeVine said was “by far the largest week of unemployment benefits delivered in our state’s history.”

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