More than 109K filed for unemployment in Maryland last week
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) – More than 109,000 people filed for unemployment benefits in Maryland last week. The numbers released by the state’s labor department on Thursday are the highest number of claims in Maryland in a week’s time since the coronavirus outbreak forced many businesses to shutter.
The number of claims rose as a federal stimulus package extended unemployment benefits to gig workers and the self employed. More than 490,000 people have filed for unemployment in Maryland in the last seven weeks. Roughly 33.5 million people have filed for jobless claims in the United States since the pandemic started forcing millions of companies to close their doors.