Tennessee has had an unprecedented spike in new initial unemployment claims according to data the United States Department of Labor released Thursday.
For the week ending March 21, Tennesseans filed 39,096 initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits. The week prior, the state received 2,702 new unemployment claims. The latest figure represents a nearly 15 fold increase in week-to-week claims.
Nationwide, Americans filed 3,283,000 new unemployment claims, an increase of 3,001,000 from the previous week’s revised national level, the DOL report said.
“Currently, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development is processing these claims as quickly as possible to determine eligibility and distribute benefit payments,” TDLWD spokesman Chris Cannon said in a statement; adding:
TDLWD has added additional resources to help process the influx of new claims, including training 200 Department employees to shift their job tasks to unemployment. Soon, nearly one-third of TDLWD employees will work to provide customer service and process new claims. The Department is currently expanding capacity and exploring other methods to increase its workforce.
The maximum weekly unemployment benefit in Tennessee is $275 before the deduction of federal taxes. Claimants receive this benefit through a debit card or direct deposit to a bank account, Cannon said.
The current $2 trillion coronavirus relief package passed by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday and under consideration in the House on Friday will provide an additional $600 per week in unemployment benefits for the next four months.
How quickly that program will be implemented, if the bill passes the House and is signed into law by the president, is uncertain.
Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee, through Executive Order No. 15, temporarily suspended Tennessee’s one-week waiting period to receive benefits. Typically, the state pays the first week of benefits after four consecutive weekly certifications. During this temporary suspension, the state will pay the first week of benefits as soon as an unemployment claim is approved, Cannon said.
The state will release the latest new unemployment claims data each Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Central Time beginning April 2.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Long Lines” by Gabriel White. CC BY-SA 2.0.
[…] Tennessee Star reported, TDLWD officials said they are processing these claims as quickly as possible to determine […]
This is just terrible, my husband lost his Job Permanently just the other day. They R going to hire someone for less money. All the other misc. employees have to re-apply for their jobs starting back most likely at minimum wage. This is NOT fair, when U have worked there a long time & gave your all to the company. This is a Major company in the Sevierville TN, that is Global.
They should be a shame & so should every company that does this to their Employees under the circumstance of a Pandemic Crisis or similar.