Regular unemployment claims in Maryland topped 30,000 last week and filings for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance exceeded 11,000 as the state continues to see elevated claim levels to start the new year.

Marylanders filed 30,517 regular claims for the week ending Jan. 23, according to new data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. That's a decrease of about 500 after the prior week's total was adjusted upward by more than 2,000 to 31,019. Regular claims have now topped 20,000 for each of the first three weeks of January after not hitting that level since June.

Claims for PUA, which covers independent contractors, gig workers, sole proprietors and other self-employed people, also continue to remain elevated. Filings for the program hit 11,314 last week, an increase of 1,417 from the prior week and the third straight week of increases, according to state Department of Labor data.

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