The number of workers in Bartholomew County applying for unemployment assistance dropped in early August to its lowest level since the pandemic forced businesses earlier this year to close and lay off workers at levels not seen since the Great Depression.
A total of 122 Bartholomew County workers filed initial unemployment claims the week ending Aug. 8, according to the latest figures from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. That was down from 168 the previous week and 1,845 the week ending April 11.
Additionally, 1,720 workers in Bartholomew County were receiving jobless benefits the week ending Aug. 1, down from 2,027 the week before and 5,039 the week ending May 2.
Despite the drop, claims still remain extraordinarily high.
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By comparison, the average number of initial jobless claims in Bartholomew County from January 2010 to January 2020 was around 39, while the average number of continued claims was 434 over the same time period, according to state figures. Last year, those figures had dropped to 20 and 127, respectively.
The latest round of local jobless numbers came as the number of Americans applying for unemployment dipped below 1 million in early August for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak took hold in the U.S. five months ago, The Associated Press reported.
The national figures show that the crisis continued to throw people out of work just as the expiration of an extra $600 a week in federal jobless benefits has deepened the hardship for many—and posed another threat to the U.S. economy, according to wire reports.
Applications for jobless benefits declined to 963,000 the week ending Aug. 8, the second straight drop, from 1.2 million the previous week, the government said this past Thursday. That signals layoffs are slowing, though the weekly figure still far exceeds the pre-outbreak record of just under 700,000, set in 1982.
COVID-19 is blamed for more than 170,000 deaths and 5.4 million confirmed infections in the U.S. — easily the highest totals in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Brazil has reported about 3.3 million cases and more than 108,000 deaths, second most in the world.
The virus, the shutdowns meant to fight it and the reluctance or inability of many people to shop, travel or eat out continue to undermine the economy and force companies to cut staff across the United States, according to wire reports. Over the past few months, 23 states, including Indiana, have paused or reversed their business re-openings because of a resurgence of the virus.
