NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — More than 12,000 new unemployment claims were filed in Tennessee last week, an increase of nearly 4,000 from the week prior, according to data released Thursday morning by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce.

The department reported the number of new claims for the week ending Feb. 20 was 12,077, up from the previous week when 8,116 new claims were filed. The number remains up from the week ending March 14, 2020, when approximately 2,702 new claims were made.

The number of continued unemployment claims in Tennessee was 48,015 for the week ending Feb. 20, down by nearly 2,000 from the previous week, when there were 49,964 continued claims.

A total of 1,074,383 new unemployment claims have been filed in Tennessee since March 14, 2020.