Despite a nationwide drop in initial jobless claims, the number of Tennesseans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time rose to a 6-week high last week as the economic bounce back from the coronavirus shutdown shows signs of stumbling.
Since mid March, Tennesseans have filed 673,279 initial claims for jobless benefits, including 28,843 new claims filed last week among those still being laid off. One of every five workers on the job in Tennessee in February has filed for jobless benefits during the past 16 weeks – a record jump in such claims.
“The increase last week was troubling and the direction is clearly an indicator that some portions of the economy are finding their rebound very difficult,” said Dr. William Fox, director of the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee.
Last week marked the third consecutive week that new unemployment claims have increased in Tennessee despite a nationwide decline in Americans getting pink slips.
The number of new claims in Tennessee filed during the week of the July 4th holiday was only a fourth of the record peak for such claims reached in March when 112,00 persons filed for unemployment benefits after shelter-at-home orders were first issued to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. But layoff notices still remain near historic highs.