COVID-19 continues to impact Minnesota economy as unemployment rises

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KEYC) - A report from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development shows the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an impact on employment in Minnesota.

During the six week period from March 16 through April 25, more than 556 thousand workers across Minnesota applied for Unemployment Insurance. In comparison, during the height of the last Recession in 2009, there were about 454 thousand total unemployment insurance applicants.

In southwest Minnesota alone, more than 28 thousand applications were filed during that same time period this year. That was nearly double the number of claims filed over the entire year in 2019.