New claims for unemployment benefits in Indiana have continued to rise slightly for three weeks in a row. At the same time, the number of people continuing to get benefits is slowly decreasing.

The number of new claims totaled 31,885 during the week of June 20, compared to an adjusted number of 24,017 the week before, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday. That's an increase of 7,868.

Aprils 16.9 percent unemployment rate smashes the previous record of 12.6 percent, recorded in 1982.

The Indiana jobless rate was higher than the 14.7 percent national rate. April's mark was much worse than the state's peak unemployment rate of 11 percent in 2010 during the last recession, according to federal statistics released Friday.

After six weeks of steep declines, the number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits in Indiana remained largely unchanged last week. Thats based on data released Thursday by the Department of Labor.

A little more than 30,000 Hoosiers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the economic impact of COVID-19 drags on. That adds to the quarter of a million people who continue to get unemployment benefits from the state.

Nearly 44,000 Hoosiers filed initial claims for unemployment benefits last week. While that number declines, the Department of Workforce Development is still struggling to handle high call volumes.

About 57,000 Hoosiers were among the 3.8 million Americans who filed to receive unemployment benefits last week according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Monthly numbers released Friday show Indiana's March unemployment rate went up only a tenth of a percent. That doesn't reflect the almost half million Hoosiers who applied for unemployment assistance in the last month.

Indiana finished 2019 with an unemployment rate at 3.2 percent the fourth month in a row its been at that level.