Indiana sees big drop in initial unemployment claims
Claims fell nationally, but the U.S. Labor Department’s report Thursday marked the 20th straight week that at least 1 million people have sought jobless aid.
Claims fell nationally, but the U.S. Labor Department’s report Thursday marked the 20th straight week that at least 1 million people have sought jobless aid.
Enhanced unemployment benefits are expiring at the end of this week for millions of Americans.
Private sector employment increased as employees returned to work in the hospitality and manufacturing sectors, as well as in educational and health services.
Housing advocates are warning of a tidal wave of evictions in the state this summer unless an effort is coordinated to head it off.
The state’s jobless rate hit a whopping 17.5% in April, according to revised numbers released Friday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, before falling in May.
The staggering increase in Indiana’s jobless rate—which now is higher than the national rate—was due primarily to the loss of 380,500 workers in the private sector over the previous month.
Experts say the wave of layoffs and pay cuts that first ravaged the service industry in mid-March are starting to erode management, upper-level and even executive jobs.
Data for the report was culled from a federal survey performed in mid-March, just before unemployment claims escalated. However, there’s still evidence of the coronavirus-related sea change brewing in the workforce.
The additional $600 in unemployment benefits could start arriving Friday for some Hoosiers, but independent contractors and gig economy workers may be waiting until next month to see any payments.
State unemployment specialist Josh Richardson talks with host Mason King about who is now eligible for benefits under an expansion approved by Congress as well as how soon they’ll begin receiving benefits and how the agency is adjusting to a flood of applicants.
The number of Hoosiers filing for unemployment benefits has skyrocketed over the past two weeks.
State and federal authorities have expanded the eligibility for unemployment benefits significantly, meaning if you’re out of work and didn’t qualify under the old rules, you likely will now.
In Indiana, initial claims filed for the week ended March 21 rose to a whopping 61,635, up from 2,596 claims the previous week.
The numbers are skyrocketing as businesses close as part of efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The governor also signed legislation that will eventually put more money into the state’s unemployment trust fund, a move that comes as the coronavirus outbreak has led to a jump in unemployment claims.
Many of those workers already live paycheck to paycheck—and a disruption in the flow of those checks could set off long-term financial problems. Foreclosures, evictions, bankruptcies, repossessions and more.
The growing number of people filing for unemployment checks raises fresh questions about whether states have stockpiled enough money since the last recession to tide over idled workers until the crisis ends.
In a snapshot of the state’s workforce from January, private employment grew in the transportation, hospitality, education and health sectors while declining in manufacturing.
The contribution rates used to determine how much Indiana businesses pay into the state’s unemployment trust fund will be frozen for another five years under legislation passed by both the Indiana House and Senate.
A bright spot was the U-6, or underemployment rate, which fell to 6.7 percent, according to Bloomberg News. This level was lower than at any point since at least 1994.