KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – Tennessee reported 10,000 new unemployment claims or more each of the final two weeks of February.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce reported 10,355 new jobless claims were made in the week ending Feb. 27. For the week prior, the department reported 12,077, the most since the week ending on Jan. 16.

Total continued claims statewide are 54,972 an increase of 6,957 from last week. In Knox County, data shows 430 new claims were filed, with 2,529 claims continuing.

A total of 103,764 new claims have been filed in Tennessee since the week ending on Jan. 9. Since the start of the pandemic in mid-March, the department has now reported 1,084,738 claims made in Tennessee.