FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - About 80,000 Kentucky residents applied for unemployment benefits last week, down from the prior week while showing that economic disruption from the coronavirus continues to spread.
The number of laid-off Kentucky workers seeking jobless assistance in the past seven weeks is approaching 700,000 - about one-third of the state’s civilian workforce. The global pandemic has forced many Kentucky employers to close their doors and slash their workforces.
Gov. Andy Beshear has started rolling out plans to gradually reopen businesses.
The number of Kentuckians filing for jobless assistance last week was down about 11,000 from the prior week, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
Kentucky is processing an unprecedented surge of unemployment insurance claims.
A state official said this week that changes are coming to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance based on guidance from the federal government. Benefits were expanded to many groups typically not covered under Kentucky’s unemployment system.
About 100,000 Kentuckians receive benefits through PUA. The minimum weekly payment is being lowered slightly to $176, said Josh Benton, deputy secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. However, recipients can submit their 2019 wage history, which is likely to raise their total benefit amount in “more cases than not,” he said.
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