New jobless claims highest since May
Tennessee’s weekly unemployment numbers are slowly creeping up as applications topped 25,000 last week, though the number of continued claims remains on the decline.
In the week ending July 4, 25,843 Tennesseans filed new claims for unemployment, the first-time weekly claims have topped 25,000 since May. In an average month prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development might process around total 15,000 claims. Prior to mid-june, the number of weekly unemployment claims had been on a steady decline. Last week marks the third week in a row of slight increases. Since March 15, 691,898 Tennesseans have filed for unemployment, according to state data released Thursday. Of these, 256,645 have filed weekly certifications to continue their claims. This is the lowest number of continued claims since mid-april.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development paid 275,421 claims in the week ending July 4 using more than $260 million in federal coronavirus relief funds. Tennessee’s unemployment rate reached a recordbreaking high of 15.5% in April, surpassing Tennessee’s previous high of 12.9% in December of 1982 and January of 1983. The unemployment rate fell in May to 11.3% as Tennessee’s phased reopening plan took effect. The state’s unemployment rate for June is yet to be released.
Nationally, more than 1.3 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week.