About 30,000 people applied for unemployment benefits in Indiana last week even as many business restrictions stemming from the coronavirus outbreak were eased in most of the state, federal data released Thursday shows.
Indiana has had about 640,000 people seek jobless aid over the past eight weeks since business closures swept across the country, the U.S. Department of Labor statistics showed. Indiana reported processing nearly 69,000 applications for a separate federal program set up for self-employed and gig workers.
READ MORE: First Step In Indiana's COVID-19 Job Recovery Plan: Offer Workers Retraining Grants
The number of initial unemployment applications submitted in Indiana last week was down about 12,000 from the week before and continued a downward trend from the 100,000-plus the state received for three straight weeks in late March and early April. Indiana was receiving fewer than 3,000 claims per week before the pandemic hit the country.
The federal statistics show Indiana was paying unemployment benefits to about 270,000 people during the week ending April 25, while only about 13,000 people received those payments a year earlier.
Nationally, nearly 3 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week after the government said the unemployment rate soared to 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression.
For the latest news and resources about COVID-19, bookmark our Coronavirus In Indiana page here.