Tennesseans filed 37,319 new unemployment claims for the week ending May 2, according to officials with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
They released a new report on Thursday. In it, they said that 6,303 new claims were filed in East Tennessee.
Tennessee officials released these numbers for weekly unemployment claim totals in the past 7 weeks:
- 43,792 new claims for the week ending on April 25
- 68,968 new claims for the week ending on April 18
- 74,772 new claims for the week ending on April 11
- 116,141 new claims for the week ending on April 4
- 94,492 new claims for the week ending on March 28
- 39,096 new claims for the week ending March 21
- 2,702 new claims for the week ending March 14
Unemployment claim numbers are also rising nationally. Economists said that a job report for April could reveal a 16 percent unemployment rate after employers cut around 21 million jobs.
Many people who are still employed have also had their hours reduced or have suffered pay cuts. Some who lost their jobs did not have the chance to look for work, amid widespread shutdowns. They won’t be counted as unemployed.
A broader measure — the proportion of adults with jobs — could plunge to a record low, economists said.