According to the US Department of Commerce, the coronavirus pandemic triggered the sharpest economic contraction in modern American history.
Gross domestic product — which is the broadest measure of economic activity — shrank at an annual rate of 32.9% in the second quarter, as many restaurants and retail storess closed their doors as part of the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The economic shock in April, May and June was roughly four times as sharp as the worst quarterly decline during the Great Recession, according to NPR.
1.43 million Americans applied for first-time state unemployment last week, which is an increase of 12,000 from the previous week’s report, according to the US Labor Department. It was the second straight week of increased unemployment filings, whicih analysts say shows that the economic picture is still “grim.”
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In Tennessee, 19,461 people applied for unemployment last week, a significant decline from the previous week, when over 25,000 people filed first-time jobless claims. Since March 15th, 759,584 Tennesseans have filed for unemployment.
For a complete look at the numbers released Thursday morning by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, check out our website, and for information on first-time and continuing jobless claims at the county level, follow this link.
Total Claims Paid | 264,002 |
Total Payments | $246,276,467 |
Tennessee Payments | $0* |
Federal Payments | $246,276,467 |
*TN payments paid through the Coronavirus Relief Fund
New Claims Filed: The number of individuals filing new unemployment claims for the previous week.
Continued Claims: The number of claims continued with weekly certifications.
WEEK | WEEK ENDING DATE | NEW CLAIMS | CONTINUED CLAIMS |
10 | March 14 | 2,702 | 16,342 |
11 | March 21 | 39,096 | 16,098 |
12 | March 28 | 94,492 | 34,570 |
13 | April 4 | 116,141 | 112,438 |
14 | April 11 | 74,772 | 199,910 |
15 | April 18 | 68,968 | 267,053 |
16 | April 25 | 43,792 | 324,543 |
17 | May 2 | 37,319 | 321,571 |
18 | May 9 | 29,308 | 325,095 |
19 | May 16 | 28,692 | 314,487 |
20 | May 23 | 26,041 | 310,126 |
21 | May 30 | 22,784 | 302,260 |
22 | June 6 | 21,417 | 292,234 |
23 | June 13 | 19,925 | 280,593 |
24 | June 20 | 21,155 | 266,596 |
25 | June 27 | 22,256 | 262,224 |
26 | July 4 | 25,843 | 256,645 |
27 | July 11 | 22,431 | 251,924 |
28 | July 18 | 25,794 | 243,405 |
29 | July 25 | 19,461 | 242,397 |
New Claims Since March 15 | 759,584 |