FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Nearly 70,000 Kentucky residents applied for unemployment benefits last week as the coronavirus pandemic continued to inflict economic damage even as the state gradually reboots its economy.
The number of laid-off Kentucky workers seeking jobless assistance in the past eight weeks approached 750,000 - more than one-third of the state’s civilian workforce.
The 69,069 Kentuckians submitting new jobless claims was down more than 13,300 from the prior week, continuing a downward trend, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
It was the lowest weekly number in Kentucky since late March, when the pandemic caused an avalanche of job losses as businesses shut down or scaled back.
Kentucky is processing an unprecedented number of unemployment insurance claims. Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday that the state has enough in its unemployment insurance trust fund until summer but will eventually need a cash infusion to meet demand for benefits.
Beshear has rolled out plans to gradually reopen businesses. Auto and boat dealerships relaunched in-person service this week - among reopenings that included manufacturing, construction, office-based businesses, pet grooming and photography businesses.
The next phases of reopenings this month and next will include retail stores, restaurants, hair and nail salons, barbershops, movie theaters, fitness centers and child-care centers.
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