AUSTIN, Texas — As coronavirus cases continue to surge, Texans seeking unemployment benefits remain high.

About 106,000 people applied for jobless claims last week. That is down about 10 percent from the week prior.But to put it in perspective, typically about 14,000 people apply for unemployment benefits in Texas each week.

Claims had also been falling steadily until some businesses were forced to close again due to the recent COVID outbreak.

Economists say the resurgence of the virus is affecting economic recovery.

“It’s certainly progressing slower than we expected or hoped,” said Thomas Tunstall, the Director of Research at the Institute for Economic Development at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

More than 2.9 million Texans have filed for unemployment relief since mid-March.

Click the video link above to watch our full interview with Tunstall.