Roughly 75,000 Hoosiers were among the more than 4.4 million Americans who filled out an application for unemployment benefits last week.

Those jobs include everyone from solar panel installers to heating and air conditioning technicians to people who make electric vehicle engines.

Across the country, almost 17 million workers filed for unemployment benefits in the last three weeks due to COVID-19. That includes more than 300,000 people from Indiana.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Indiana experienced a third week of unprecedented spikes in applications for unemployment insurance in response to massive COVID-19-related layoffs.

The sheer amount and speed of layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic are putting enormous strain on the unemployment insurance system in Indiana. It's leaving some wondering how the system works -- and if it's prepared to handle this crisis.

More than 120,000 Hoosiers filed for unemployment insurance last week according to the Department of Workforce Development.

Compared to the same week last year, many Indiana counties saw an unemployment increase in the thousands.

Indiana Workforce Development Commissioner Fred Payne says help is coming for the self-employed and independent contractors.

School buildings are closed statewide for at least another month, and it's up to locally elected school boards to decide whether, and how, to pay hourly workers.

The order will shut down businesses that arent considered essential, leaving many without jobs starting Wednesday. The Department of Workforce Development is telling all workers finding themselves without a job to apply for unemployment insurance online.