More than 40,000 filed for unemployment insurance in Minnesota, bringing the state total to nearly 700,000, according to recent data.
Data from the U.S. Department of Labor showed that 40,427 people filed for unemployment insurance benefits in the week ending May 9. That number is down a little more than 1,000 applicants from the week prior.
Nearly 3 million claimants filed claims nationally.
More than 668,000 Minnesota residents have filed for unemployment insurance benefits since March 15, according to state data. The number of claimants has been steadily dropping since the peak of more than 32,000 in a single day on March 18. The state saw just 7,026 claimants on May 13 and 5,395 claimants the day prior.
Some industries were hit harder than others. The food and beverage industry lost 51,619 workers, retail lost 39,914 workers and construction lost 32,089 workers, according to state data. Other industries that were hard hit include cook and food prep, which lost 23,918 workers; personal appearance, which lost 19,560 workers; and motor vehicle operators, which lost 18,865 workers.
The layoffs also disproportionately affected those between ages 25 and 44, making up nearly half of those who filed unemployment insurance benefits, as well as certain education demographics. Those with a high school education and some college made up nearly 400,000 of those who filed for unemployment insurance benefits.
Gov. Tim Walz recently announced that he would be replacing the current order — set to expire on May 18 — with one that allows gatherings of 10 people or less. It also opens retail stores and other “main street businesses” with a social distancing plan, although it restricts them to operating at 50 percent capacity.
“This is not the time for sudden movements,” Walz said in a statement. “We are not flipping a switch and going back to normal all at once. We are slowly moving a dial and introducing more interaction between people over time. As we take cautious steps forward, it is more important than ever that we protect those most at risk, support workers, and all do our part to slow the spread of the virus.”
Minnesota currently has more than 13,00 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and more than 115,000 negative tests, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project. The death toll in the state in the 663.
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Jordyn Pair is a reporter with The Michigan Star. Follow her on Twitter at @JordynPair. Email her at [email protected].
Photo “Long line of People” by Dave Winer. CC BY-SA 2.0.
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