Maine unemployment claims hit new high last week
As the global health and economic crisis worsened, more Mainers filed jobless claims last week than in any similar period over the past 17 years, data released Thursday show.
A total of 23,761 Maine workers applied for unemployment benefits from March 22-28, according to the state Department of Labor. That’s up from 21,459 during the previous week, and both numbers far surpass any previous week’s application volume since at least 2003.
Earlier in 2020, weekly claims were averaging under 1,000, and as recently as the week ending March 14, totaled only 634. Maine had experienced a record streak of low unemployment, with the jobless level at 3.1% in January and remaining below 4% for 49 consecutive months, according to the Labor Department.
At the height of the 2008-09 recession, weekly totals peaked at 5,634.
Nationwide, more than 6.65 million people filed for unemployment last week, double the record high from March 15-21 of 3.3 million.
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