The Indiana Department of Workforce Development is reopening federal benefits Friday. The agency also confirmed it plans to make up payments people would have received last month if they were still eligible for assistance.

After weeks of legal filings, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development says it estimates federal benefits to be available again starting July 16.

Attorneys for the state maintain Indiana can’t continue paying out the benefits because the state has already ended its agreement with the federal government to administer the federal programs.

Although the number of unemployed Hoosiers rose, so did the number of people with jobs or looking for work.

Indiana may be forced to reinstate federal unemployment benefits following a hearing in Superior Court on Wednesday where groups argued for an emergency injunction to stop the state from ending those benefits.

Indiana legal groups said the state is violating its own law which says it must give citizens all rights and benefits of federal laws.

The requirements are normal, but were waived for more than a year as a form of pandemic relief.

The Indiana AFL-CIO is criticizing Gov. Eric Holcomb's decision to withdraw the state from federal programs providing an extra $300 in weekly payments to unemployed workers and expanded jobless benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data is preliminary, but may show a slight slowing in economic recovery from the ongoing pandemic.