New claims for unemployment benefits filed by Lancaster Countians dropped 7.5% last week but remained elevated by fresh filings from already unemployed people whoâve exhausted their first round of benefits, new data shows. The drop to 616 new claims from 666 new claims the prior week ended a string of three consecutive weekly increases, according to figures released Thursday by the Lancaster County Workforce Development Board. But despite the decline, the number of new claims is roughly double the volume seen a month earlier. The reason, according to the board, is that hundreds of people who were laid off when the pandemic began in March 2020 -- and now are seeing their year of benefits ending -- are filing new claims.