New claims for unemployment benefits filed by Lancaster Countians remained elevated last week by fresh filings from people who already were unemployed but have exhausted their first round of benefits, new data shows.
Although new claims dropped slightly -- by 4.0% to 602 claims -- they exceeded 500 for the fifth straight week, according to figures released by the Lancaster County Workforce Development Board on Thursday.
New claims had dwindled into the 200s in late February and early March, until getting inflated anew by the timetable undergirding the claims process.
Hundreds of people who were laid off at the start of the pandemic, which began in March 2020, now are seeing their initial year of benefits end. So theyâre filing new claims, hoping to get another year of regular unemployment compensation or extended benefits, a board official explained.