NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – While the rate of weekly unemployment claims in Tennessee is still well-above pre-pandemic levels, the first two weeks of August have seen fewest new unemployment claims since mid-March.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce reported the number of new claims for the week ending August 8 was 10,036, the lowest number of new claims since the week ending March 14, when the pandemic began and approximately 2,702 new claims were made.

The number of new claims for the week ending August 1 was 11,690. The first two weeks of August have seen fewer than new claims than 15 of the 18 single-week totals between March 21 and July 25.

Weekly unemployment claims peaked at 116,141 in the week ending in April 4.

The number of continued unemployment claims in Tennessee was 208,810 for the week ending August 8, which is down by about 18,000 from the previous week. A total of 781,310 claims have been filed in Tennessee since March 15.

Click here for county-level unemployment claim data.