More than 22,000 file for benefits

The financial impact of COVID-19 can now be quantified.

The U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that 281,000 Americans filed for unemployment last week.

At his afternoon press conference Thursday, Gov. Eric Holcomb said 22,583 Hoosiers had filed for unemployment insurance from Monday to Wednesday of this week. That’s up from 3,100 Hoosiers who filed for unemployment during the same week in 2019.

Unemployment and reduced working hours have become the norm for thousands of salary and hourly workers in Indiana and America as businesses adjust to mass closures in a new isolation-based COVID world.

In a response to Hoosiers’ financial hardships, Holcomb issued several executive orders that are designed to expand unemployment insurance eligibility “to the broadest extent possible.”

The state Department of Workforce Development will also seek permission from the federal government to issue unemployment insurance to unemployed Hoosiers who may not be typically eligible.

Per the state’s website, unemployment must first be applied for online at unemployment.in.gov. A valid ID and email address is required.

Eight WorkOne career centers in northeast Indiana closed today to encourage social distancing.

Centers in Fort Wayne, Marion and Muncie will be open Monday through Friday with terminals to file for unemployment and limited in-person consultation.

Centers in Decatur (Wednesday), Bluffton (Friday) and Wabash (Tuesday) are available by phone on the listed day of the week they are open. There are no active centers in Jay County.

“These are challenging times for everyone and it is essential that we do our part in stemming the spread of the virus,” said Edmond O’Neal, president of Northeast Indiana Works, in a press release Thursday detailing the center's closures.

The DWD will host two online webinars next week to help explain how to file for unemployment. The first session will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and the other will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday. Those interested can register at bit.ly/2Umy9wd.

After the webinar, the videos will be posted on DWD’s website.

Those eligible for unemployment in Indiana could receive several hundreds dollars a week depending on their previous wage and living situation.

Holcomb also announced several protections for those who may not be able to afford to pay rent or service bills.

Gas and water companies, among other service providers, are prohibited from cutting off service for unpaid bills. All evictions and foreclosures are also paused during the state’s public health emergency, which will run until at least early May, Holcomb said.

Holcomb also expanded telehealth services for medical providers and psychologists to encourage social distancing.

A stimulus package signed by President Donald Trump on Wednesday provided additional funding to states for the increasing amount of people applying for unemployment relief.

The New York Times reported Thursday that Trump is asking states to delay releasing exact unemployment numbers to the public in an effort to reduce a negative reaction in the stock markets to growing unemployment.