(NASHVILLE) Data released from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development showed that the number of claims exploded this week by a little over 14 per cent. There were 285,140 Tennesseans who received unemployment checks this month (July 23, 2020). 

This dramatic increase comes after 11 consecutive weeks of drops.  

The peak for claims was May 9, 2020 when 325,095 checks were distributed. 

Department of Labor data shows that things were looking good. In fact, if we take last week's (July 18, 2020) figures, there were weekly drops for 11 consecutive weeks.  claims across the Volunteer State totaled 243,405, whereas the previous week showed 251,924--that's a drop of a little over 3 per cent. And then the COVID-19 cases spiked.  

This week's tabulations for Rutherford County are 13,970. In counties of comparable size, Hamilton County (Chattanooga) had 13,450 claims, while Knox County (Knoxville) recorded 14,733. 

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