The number of Iowans who filed unemployment claims last week jumped to 40,846, a 6% increase from the previous week when 38,505 claims were filed, data from Iowa Workforce Development shows. The increase was due to a 45% spike in the number of initial unemployment claims filed by Iowans in the week that ended on Saturday. Records show that 7,255 Iowans filed initial claims last week. The number is the highest since the week of Jan. 9 when 7,366 initial claims were filed by Iowans. Data from the agency shows that 22% of new claims were filed by people who had been self-employed or contract workers, and 21% were filed by people who had worked in manufacturing. The state agency also reported that $10.2 million in jobless benefits was paid out of Iowa’s unemployment compensation trust fund. Since mid-March 2020, $1.28 billion has been paid from the fund.