By Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – The government says more than 103,000 Kentucky residents applied for unemployment benefits last week. That raises the state’s five-week total to about 500,000 people seeking aid. It reflects the disappearance of jobs across an economy in near lockdown from the coronavirus.

The U.S. Labor Department released the latest numbers Thursday. The number of Kentuckians filing for jobless assistance last week was down more than 12,700 from the prior week.

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman says Kentucky has hired more than 1,000 new workers to help process the unprecedented surge of unemployment insurance claims.