NASHVILLE — The number of continued claims for unemployment insurance has dropped in Tennessee for a fourth consecutive week, the Dept. of Labor & Workforce Development reported Thursday.
There were 22,784 new claims filed the week ending May 30 — the lowest number in a single week since the coronavirus outbreak began. There were 302,260 continued claims for the week, down from 310,126 for the week ending May 23 and down from a high of 325,095 for the week ending May 9.
The numbers remain extremely high, however. The 22,784 new claims filed last week remains 10 times higher than the number of new claims filed in the last week before the coronavirus-related layoffs and closures began. That week, March 14, there were only 2,702 new claims.
The number of new claims filed last week included 2,430 in the East Tennessee region, which includes Scott County and most neighboring counties, along with Knoxville and surrounding counties.
There have been more than 580,000 new claims for unemployment in Tennessee since March 15. In total, $285.7 million has been paid out for those claims.
