After 32 consecutive weeks of declining continued claims of unemployment in Tennessee, that trend reversed at the end of December and the first week of January. This according to data provided by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Developoment.
Coincidentally, timing of this trend reversal began the week that President Donald Trump signed the $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill on Dec. 27.
In Tennessee for the week ending on Dec. 26, there was a jump in new claims: with 10,198 new unemployment claims compared to the 7,411 the week prior.
The following week, ending Jan. 2, there were 16,554 new claims for unemployment filed.
This resulted in a jump of continued claims (which are claims with weekly certifications) from 43,482 to 51,816 in two weeks time.
The most recent job percentage numbers in December showed that unemployment in all 95 of Tennessee’s counties decreased, including a 1.9 percentage point improvement in Coffee County. December’s numbers should be available next week.
