15,668 Nebraskans filed initial unemployment insurance claims during the week of March 15-21, according to a U.S. Department of Labor report released Thursday morning.
It's 31 times greater than the number of jobless claims from the first week of March. Previously, the greatest number of jobless claims filed in a week was the first week of 2010, when 3,792 people filed claims.
Gov. Pete Ricketts is expected to discuss the spike at his 2 p.m. press conference, according to the Nebraska Department of Labor. The agency said more Nebraska-specific details will be released at that time.
Nationally, there were nearly 2.9 million jobless claims, according to the report. That's more people than the population of Chicago, the country's third largest city.
The counts released Thursday are from the first full week since a pandemic was declared.
Ricketts issued an order loosening unemployment regulations last week. People filing claims no longer need to prove they are searching for work. Pay will come a week earlier than normal and employers will not contribute to payments.
3 News Now Investigators will have more Thursday evening during the 6 p.m. news on KMTV.
This post will be updated as we learn more.
