A little more than 30,000 Hoosiers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the economic impact of COVID-19 drags on. That adds to the quarter of a million people who continue to get unemployment benefits from the state.

The number of people opening a new unemployment claim continues to decrease since peaking in late March. But available data shows the total number of people now receiving unemployment benefits each week is still growing.

Rick Farrant is the communications director for the Northeast Indiana Works workforce board. He says moving forward, unemployment will more likely reflect a drop in economic demand rather than government restrictions.

“I think initial or new claims will likely continue to drop as the economy reopens,” he says. “In a week or two it’s going to be important not to focus on initial, or new, claims but to focus on continued claims.”

READ MORE: Governor Holcomb Outlines How – And Why – The State Will Reopen

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Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Fred Payne is slated to give an update on the agency’s response to unemployment Friday.

Contact Justin at jhicks@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @Hicks_JustinM.