COLUMBUS, Ind. — 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.
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.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
