The number of Tennesseans seeking jobless benefits fell last week to the lowest level since early March before the coronavirus pandemic began slowing the state’s economy and ultimately led 906,360 Tennesseans to file for unemployment assistance in the past seven months.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday that 6,992 new claims were filed by newly laid off workers last week, including 304 in Hamilton County.
Tennessee used federal stimulus funds from the CARES Act to pay all of its jobless benefits last week, which averaged $292.96 per claimant. That was only about a third of what jobless persons were paid until the end of July when a federal $600-a-week supplemental benefit ran out.
Nationwide, initial jobless claims also declined slightly last week to 751,000, a still-historically high level that shows that many employers keep cutting jobs in the face of the accelerating pandemic.
Before the virus struck in March, the weekly figure had remained below 300,000 for more than five straight years.