The number of Tennesseans filing for new jobless benefits fell to the lowest level in more than four months last week, but the number of newly laid off workers seeking jobless benefits was still nearly nine times higher than a year ago in Tennessee and continued to rise nationwide.
Initial jobless claims tracked by the U.S. Department of Labor surpassed 1.4 million last week, a jump of 12,000 over the previous week, including 19461 new claims in Tennessee.
The continuing wave of job cuts is further evidence of the devastation the coronavirus outbreak has unleashed on the U.S. economy even as the extra $600 a week benefits paid to the 17 million Americans collecting traditional jobless benefits came to an end this week.
“The extended unemployment benefits set to expire for millions of the nation’s jobless workers will further impact the ailing economy as consumers struggle to pay for goods and services,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of global outplacement and executive and business coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. “The businesses that may have been benefiting from those consumers and shoring up neighborhoods may also begin to close at a faster clip.”
The Labor Department’s report Thursday marked the 19th straight week that more than 1 million people have applied for unemployment benefits. Before the coronavirus hit hard in March, the number of Americans seeking unemployment checks had never exceeded 700,000 in any one week, even during the Great Recession.