Nearly 22 million workers nationwide, including more than a million in Michigan, have sought unemployment benefits since the pandemic began shutting down the global economy a month ago.

So far, the state has paid out $745 million in unemployment payments to more than 725,000 claimants, a number that is expected to go up with additional claims and with each week the stay-at-home order is in place.

Jeff Donofrio, the director of the state Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, reiterated comments earlier this week that a quarter of our workforce has filed for unemployment, adding "we know there is more work to do to improve our systems."

In a week-to-week comparison of new claims, the number of claims for the state and for the nation declined, a potentially good sign.

For the week ending April 11, nearly 220,000 people filed for unemployment benefits, down from more than 388,000 who filed claims the prior week, pushing the total number of claims to 1,041,015.

Nationwide, 5.2 million Americans filed for benefits last week, a reduction from 6.6 million who filed the week before.

Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University in Indiana, said it suggests "we are not experiencing accelerating job losses as consumer spending and business investment drop."

Still, with no timeline for when the pandemic will end, it is likely the total number of unemployment claims will continue to rise.

The highest active claim total during the recession in early 2009 was 363,212.

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Earlier this week, Donofrio said if the pandemic restrictions continue through July, conservative models show that about half of the trust fund, which had $4.6 billion before the pandemic, would be depleted.

Yet many Michiganders continue to struggle to file for benefits and are increasingly frustrated that the only ways to ask questions or get help are through the internet and a toll-free number, which are overwhelmed.

Donofrio added Thursday that the labor department appreciated "the patience of our working families as we process the historic need for benefits," and said the state is "committed to quickly providing every dollar of emergency financial assistance our workers are entitled to."

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

To file for unemployment

Go online at Michigan.gov/UIA. Names that begin with A-L file claims on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. Names beginning with M-Z on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Saturdays are for any who could not file the rest of the week.

Or call 866-500-0017. Hours: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. Names that begin with A-L file claims Monday and Wednesday. Names beginning with M-Z on Tuesday and Thursday. Fridays and Saturdays are for any who could not call on designated days.