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.

Indianas unemployment held steady for the second consecutive month in November, 3.2 percent. The rate hasnt gotten worse since March.

Indiana hit 3.2 percent unemployment in September, then remained there in October. Thats the lowest rate since December 2000.

Indiana's unemployment fell to 3.2 percent in September But the news isn't all good. Other employment data struggled for the third month in a row.

Indianas unemployment rate improved in July for the second consecutive month.

The Indiana unemployment rate improved by 0.1 percentage points to 3.5% in June. Thats the first time its gone down since December 2017.