The jobless rate in King County was 5.3 percent, part of a record statewide run on unemployment benefits, according to Washington’s Employment Security Department.

Officials said 90,331 people applied for regular unemployment benefits last month, an increase of about 75 percent over December 2007. The previous record was set in December 2001, when 72,942 people filed initial claims.

In addition, a one-week record of 25,687 claims was set Dec. 21-27, which included the Christmas holiday.

The statewide unemployment average was 6.4 percent, nearly two percentage points higher than the 4.6 percent 12 months earlier. King County’s unemployment rate was a full percentage point lower than the state level.

As 2008 ended, more than 136,000 Washingtonians were receiving unemployment benefits (compared to 72,910 at the end of 2007), and five counties were pushing double-digit unemployment percentages – Lewis in southwest Washington (9.9), Columbia on the southeast border (9.6), Grays Harbor and Pacific on the coast and (each 9.3) and Pend Oreille in the northeast corner (9.0).

Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee said the record numbers of applications in December were especially staggering because the department’s call centers were closed or understaffed for several days in December due to snow and the Christmas holiday.

Unemployment benefits are paid out of the state’s unemployment-insurance trust fund, which has a current balance of more than $4 billion and is considered one of the healthiest in the nation, Lee said.

By law, the maximum weekly unemployment benefit in Washington is $541 and the minimum is $129. The average weekly payment in 2008 was about $350.