Lincoln – Nebraska received nearly 8,200 new unemployment claims last week as the fallout from pandemic restrictions on business continued, according to new data released last Thursday.

The latest number from the U.S. Department of Labor is about 4,000 lower than the previous week, but is still higher than average. The number of new claims has been falling since it peaked at a record-setting surge of 26,700 in early April.

Unemployment has soared in Nebraska and nationally due to state-mandated social distancing restrictions on businesses as well as Americans who are staying sheltered at home to avoid spreading the coronavirus. Some businesses have closed while others have had scale back their operations and lay off employees.

Nebraska has now seen well over 100,000 new claims over the past six weeks.