10,000+ new unemployment claims filed last week in Tennessee, down from previous week

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF/AP) — More than 10,000 new unemployment claims were filed last week in Tennessee, down from the previous week.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported the latest updates Thursday, saying 10,355 new claims were filed during the week ending on Feb. 27. That’s down 1,722 claims from the week before that.

The number of continued claims rose to 54,972. Click here to file a claim in Tennessee.

Nationwide, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits edged higher last week to 745,000.

Thursday’s report from the Labor Department shows that jobless claims rose by 9,000 from the previous week. Though the pace of layoffs has eased since the year began, they remain high by historical standards. Before the virus flattened the U.S. economy a year ago, applications for unemployment aid had never topped 700,000 in any week, even during the Great Recession.

All told, 4.3 million Americans are receiving traditional state unemployment benefits.