Basic Needs Indicators

We’re all struggling with the nation’s economic downturn, but it’s especially hard on vulnerable people in King County. To meet people’s pressing basic needs, United Way of King County will invest in programs that promote housing stability, alleviate hunger and help people secure the tax credits and public benefits they need.

The following indicators represent the impact of economic conditions on people in our community. Data are broken down by smaller geographic areas where possible. Additional data is provided in many of the downloadable files. This will provide an immediate barometer of how people are faring in King County during these difficult times.

If you are looking for information on how to get assistance for yourself or someone you know in Washington State, call 2-1-1 or follow this link: http://www.resourcehouse.info/Win211/

Status on key indicators:

The unemployment rate in King County rose to 8.8% in January, 2010.
Requests for assistance with basic needs are up overall and have nearly doubled for rent assistance.
Food banks report increased demand for emergency food of 10% on average during 2008 over 2007 numbers. Visits to food banks continued to increase in 2009, though more gradually.
Layoffs in King County increased by 50% in 2008 over 2007. In the latter half of 2009, fewer layoffs have been reported.
Home foreclosures continue to be recorded at high rates in King County compared with years before the recession. South County is disproportionately affected by foreclosures.

Requests for Assistance with Basic Needs

211 Information line provides information on social services.

The number of requests to 211 for rent assistance in September 2008 was double the number in September 2007 and has continued to grow.
Requests for utility assistance and food also increased.
The largest number of calls come from South King County, followed by Seattle.

Source: Crisis Clinic | Download Data

The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services provides financial, medical and food assistance.

Applications for financial assistance through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program rose 25% from an average 1,900 per month to over 2,300 during 2008 . Applications have remained at that level during the first nine months of 2009.
Caseloads rose even more sharply than applications and continue to rise because people are staying in the program longer.

Source: Washington State Department of Social and Health Services | Download Data

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Emergency Food Distribution

The number of visits to food banks increased by 10% in 2008 over the number in 2007.
In 2009, the number of visits has continued to rise though more slowly.
Some individual food banks saw increases as much as 30% during some months in 2008 compared to the same months in 2007.
Based on data from Seattle food banks, the largest increase in food bank beneficiaries was for children 0-2, followed by other children under 18.
Applications for food stamps have increased steadily in late 2008 and early 2009. In the third quarter of 2009, the number of new applications leveled off. An average of 10,000 King County residents apply for food stamps each month.

Source: Food Lifeline | Download Data

Source: Washington State Department of Social and Health Services | Download Data

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Worker Layoffs

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) act requires companies with 100 or more employees to notify affected workers 60 days prior to closures and layoffs. WARN data does not capture the total number of workers laid off, but does include most large layoffs of full time regular employees and serves as an indicator.

Layoffs in King County increased in 2008 over 2007.
10,908 layoffs were reported for 2009 more than double those reported for 2008.
The number of layoffs declined in the last quarter of 2009 and first two months of 2010.
Washington gained new jobs in January, 2010 for the first time in over a year.

Source: Washington State Employment Security Department | Download Data

The large number of January 09 layoffs is due to the Seattle based Washington Mutual Bank purchase by New York based JP Morgan Chase.

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Employment Security Data

How is unemployment measured?

The unemployment rate in Washington State has increased sharply over the past year, but declined slightly in April then leveled off. The Washington State unemployment rate is now comparable to national levels.

Shaded areas represent national recessionary periods
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics | Download Data

Unemployment in King County rose again in January 2010 from 8.4% to 8.8%.
The unemployment rate for Washington State surpassed the national average in March,2009 at 9.6%, but decreased in April and has remained between 8.6 and 9.2% until January 2010, when it rose to 10.2%.
However the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Washington State in January, 2010 was 9.3 percent, up from December’s downwardly revised level of 9.2 percent.
The seasonally adjusted rate for King County is not available, but for the Bellevue-Seattle-Everett metropolitan area it remained 9.2% for January, 2010.
The percentage of unemployed workers in Washington getting unemployment benefits dropped from 45% in 2001 to 36% in 2008¹

Source: Washington State Employment Security | Download Data

* Unemployment rates are often revised as additional data is collected, therefore the rate for a given month may be different than what was reported in previous updates.

Unemployment Benefit Levels

In Washington state, the maximum weekly benefit amount is $611. The minimum is $225. No one who is eligible for benefits will receive less than this, regardless of his or her earnings. Within those limits, the average benefit is around 50% of average earnings during the highest two quarters in the calculation period.

Currently, about 25 percent of claimants receive the maximum benefit amount and 6 percent receive the minimum.

The combination of regular unemployment benefits and emergency benefits and extensions allow workers who are eligible for all these programs to receive benefits for up to 87 weeks total.

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Home Foreclosures

Foreclosure and Homelessness

A study released on June 26, 2009 by the National Alliance to End Homelessness and six other advocacy organizations found that, nationally, 5% of shelter and transitional housing clients were homeless as a result of foreclosures. Most of these people had been renters rather than property owners.

Local Foreclosure Rates

Public Health Seattle King County has prepared data on Notice of Trustee Sales from the King County Recorders office website to estimate trends in home foreclosures. For more recent updates, an explanation of the foreclosure process and maps showing where Notice of Trustee Sales have been recorded in the County, please see Communities Count 2008, Data Updates and Recession-Linked Data.

Foreclosure rates have been rising in King County since Spring of 2007.
There is a concentration of higher numbers of foreclosures in the south/central, southwest and southeast parts of King County..

Source: *These data were prepared by Public Health Seattle-King County for Communities Count, Taken from the King County recorders website: http://146.129.54.93:8193/search.asp?cabinet=opr
Notices of Trustee Sale are a useful representation of foreclosures.

Foreclosure Need Scores

The Foreclosure Response Project has created foreclosure needs scores for every zip code in the US. The 15 zip codes in King County with the highest needs scores are all in South King County with Federal Way topping the list. Tacoma and other parts of Pierce County have considerably higher need scores than any part of King County. Download Foreclosure Need Scores by Jurisdiction