Colorado's Coronavirus-Related Jobless Claims Continue Their Surge

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DENVER (AP) - Colorado unemployment claims triggered by coronavirus-related job losses continue their surge. Last week saw initial jobless claims that were eight times the highest number of claims filed in one week during the Great Recession.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment says nearly 62,000 initial claims were filed last week -- and 81,000 in total for that and the previous week. By comparison, there were 102,000 initial unemployment claims for all of 2019.

Initial figures suggest Colorado's leisure and hospitality industry is the hardest hit so far.

The labor department says changes to its online application system have generally removed backlogs but that its telephone call center is still overwhelmed.