Skyscrapers dot the skyline in Downtown Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

Washington state jobless claims surged last week as federally backed, expanded unemployment benefits became available for the first time. Some 145,757 Washington residents filed for unemployment, an increase of more than 75% from the week prior, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Last week, states across the country began accepting jobless claims from a much broader pool of workers, including freelancers and independent contractors. The expanded benefits are a product of the federal stimulus packages Congress passed to provide relief to an economy roiled by the coronavirus crisis.

Restaurants and retail have been hit particularly hard. There were more than 10,000 new jobless claims in Washington’s retail sector last week. The disruption in other industries, like technology, is more checkered. More than 1,000 information workers filed initial unemployment claims last week and the “professional, scientific, and technical services” industry saw more than 2,800.

Tech giants are much more resilient to the crisis. In some cases, the pandemic appears to be a boon to business. Microsoft reported $35 billion in first-quarter revenue Wednesday, an increase of 15% from a year ago. The boost was driven by increased demand for Microsoft’s productivity, gaming, and cloud technologies amid the pandemic.

Amazon’s stock hit an all-time high in April as shutdown orders led to a surge in online shopping. The company will report first-quarter earnings Thursday afternoon.

But tech startups face a much more difficult road ahead.

The National Venture Capital Association estimates that there have been about 30,000 layoffs in the startup world over the past six weeks. More than 300 startups nationwide have cut staff, and one venture capitalist quoted in the NVCA report predicted that 80% of startups will cut between 10% to 50% of their workforces over the next four quarters.

The outlook is dim for gig economy companies, like Seattle-based Rover — which runs an online pet sitting and dog walking marketplace. Rover laid off 41% of its staff as people cut travel plans and spend more time at home amid the pandemic.

But other heavily-funded startups like Remitly, which facilitates mobile money transfers, are seeing business boom as COVID-19 speeds up adoption of their digital technologies.

The Downtown Seattle Association estimates that at least 56,000 jobs in the area have been lost since March 1. That represents about 17% of the downtown workforce. But Seattle’s urban core benefits from a high number of tech jobs that can be done remotely. About 72% of downtown jobs can be done from workers’ homes, according to DSA.

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