DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — More than 16,700 Iowans filed unemployment claims last week in the wake of efforts to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. A report released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 16,735 new claims filed between May 3 and May 9. That was drop from the previous week, when nearly 25,000 Iowans filed unemployment claims. The new report came in the same week the state began to allow the reopening of some businesses that had been closed to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Nationally, nearly 3 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.