State officials say nearly 160,000 Utah residents have applied for unemployment since the pandemic took hold in the U.S. in mid-March. That represents about 11% of the total workforce in Utah that is eligible for the unemployment insurance program.The 6,275 unemployment claims made in the week ending May 16 marked a 12% decrease from the previous week. It was the sixth consecutive week claims have decreased since a peak of 33,000 during the week ending April 4. But the weekly total was still more than any single week on record prior to the pandemic, including during the height of the Great Recession.