FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Nearly 91,000 Kentucky residents applied for unemployment benefits last week, down from the prior week but a grim reminder that the coronavirus continues to inflict economic damage even as the governor rolls out plans to gradually kick start commerce.
The ranks of laid-off Kentucky workers seeking jobless assistance in the past six weeks swelled to nearly 600,000 - about 30% of the state’s civilian workforce. The global pandemic has forced a cross-section of Kentucky employers to close their doors and slash their workforces.
The number of Kentuckians filing for jobless assistance last week was down by more than 13,000 from the prior week, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday. Nationally, about 30.3 million people have filed for jobless aid in the six weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began.
Kentucky has bulked up its workforce processing the unprecedented surge of unemployment insurance claims. Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday that nearly 174,000 claims had been paid out totaling more than $173 million, but thousands of claims from March remained unprocessed.
On Wednesday, Beshear laid out plans for phased reopenings of businesses, factories and churches in May. But he stressed that employers will be expected to follow “healthy at work” guidelines to help contain the virus’s spread.
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