Tennessee Department of Labor Sees More than 112K New Unemployment Claims

According to data released today by the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development, the agency received 112,438 new unemployment claims in the past week.

The Northern Middle Tennessee region had the highest number of claims with 47,325 and the East Tennessee region was second with 25,040.

The number of new unemployment claims increased substantially each week since the COVID-19 closures and passing of the CARES Act, which expanded unemployment benefits. Only three weeks ago, the department had only 2,702 new claims.

Tennessee Statewide Unemployment Claims Data

Week Number	Week Ending Date	Number of New Claims Filed
10	March 14, 2020	2,702
11	March 21, 2020	39,096
12	March 28, 2020	94,492
13	April 4, 2020	112,438

Local Workforce Development Area	Number of New Claims
Greater Memphis	15,452
Northwest Tennessee	3,409
Southwest Tennessee	3,604
Northern Middle Tennessee	47,325
Southern Middle Tennessee	10,613
Upper Cumberland	4,892
Southeast Tennessee	13,578
East Tennessee	25,040
Northeast Tennessee	6,419
West TN Mobile American Job Center	35
Middle TN Mobile American Job Center	481
East TN Mobile America Job Center	35

Unemployed workers filing for unemployment on the state’s website have seen problems due to high traffic and also noted a delay in the processing of submitted applications. Anyone who needs to file for unemployment is encouraged to do so during evening hours when traffic volume may be lower.

People with approved unemployment claims are required to certify online each Sunday to notify the state they are still not working. The job search requirement has been waived during the COVID-19 closures. The weekly certification may be done online or through the Jobs4TN app.