By Illinois Radio Network

SPRINGFIELD – Nearly 500,000 people have filed initial unemployment claims in Illinois in the last three weeks, including more than 200,00 people last week.

In Illinois, 200,940 people filed for unemployment last week, a 13% increase of 22,519 claims from the previous week and a record for the Land of Lincoln. That’s according to preliminary data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The latest figures mark the second week of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order that has forced businesses deemed non-essential to close. The order was set to end this week, but the governor extended it through the end of April.

The unemployment claims could be higher than noted because of widespread problems with filing claims because of the high volume of applicants. Pritzker has said state officials are increasing staff to process the higher volume of claims.

Nationally, more than 6.6 million Americans filed unemployment claims as more businesses were forced to lay off and furlough workers because of stay at home orders to help slow the spread of COVID-19. That’s just short of the week before it.

“In the week ending April 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 6,606,000, a decrease of 261,000 from the previous week’s revised level,” a department news release said. “The previous week’s level was revised up by 219,000 from 6,648,000 to 6,867,000.”

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