May 13th, 2021 by WCBC Radio

13,612 unemployment claims were filed in Maryland last week, an increase of more than 2,000 from the previous week, according to the state labor department. 

Many Maryland businesses are hiring but are having issues finding employees, partially due to covid-19 and partially due to people opting to stay on unemployment, according to Governor Larry Hogan.

“It’s not just anecdotal, I mean there’s no question there are some people that have made the decision to stay home and to collect unemployment rather than returning to work,” Hogan said during a press conference Wednesday.

Nationally, unemployment numbers have dropped to a pandemic-era low.