The number of Bartholomew County workers filing initial unemployment claims has been volatile over the past three weeks on record, with a spike from 104 three weeks ago to 721 claims two weeks ago before dropping to 222 last week, state figures show.
A total of 1,047 initial jobless claims were filed by Bartholomew County workers from Sept. 27 to Oct. 17, compared to a combined total of 1,005 initial claims filed over the nine preceding weeks, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
However, continued claims in Bartholomew County continued a 23-week streak of declines since peaking at 5,039 the week ending May 2. There were 804 continued claims the week ending Oct. 10, the latest on record — down from 947 the week before.
The latest round of weekly jobless figures come days after state officials reported that the unemployment rate in Bartholomew County was 4.9%, down from 5.4% in August and 17.2% in April, following similar trends seen statewide and nationally.
The unemployment rate in Indiana was 6.2% in September, a slight decrease from 6.4% in August and the lowest since the pandemic forced businesses earlier this year to close and lay off workers at levels not seen since the Great Depression.
The national rate was 7.9%, down from 8.4% in August.
A total of 787,000 U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that job losses may have eased slightly but are still running at historically high numbers, The Associated Press reported.
Last week’s figure was down from 842,000 the previous week, according to wire reports. The government also revised down the number of people who sought aid in the two weeks before that. The revised total for the week that ended Oct. 3 was 767,000, the fewest since the viral pandemic erupted in March, though still more than three times the levels that preceded the pandemic.
Economists welcomed the declines as evidence that the job market is still recovering from the pandemic recession. But some cautioned that the improvement could prove short-lived, according to the AP.
With confirmed infections having neared 60,000 in the past week, the most since July, consumers have been unable or reluctant to shop, travel, dine out or congregate in crowds — a trend that has led some employers to keep cutting jobs, according to wire reports. Several states are reporting a record number of hospitalizations from the virus.
“We doubt it will continue as COVID infections spread rapidly, pushing down demand for discretionary consumer services, especially in the hospitality sector,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, told the AP.
