More Coloradans filed for state unemployment aid last week than at any point since May as the COVID-19 pandemic’s third wave continues sends shockwaves through hospitals and the economy.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported on Wednesday that 15,528 people opened initial unemployment claims in Colorado last week.

That’s a 69.3% increase over the 9,171 people the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said filed for regular unemployment support the week ending Nov. 14 and more than double 7,483 claims see in the first week in November.

It’s the highest weekly total for new state claims since late May, state data shows. At that time, the initial shock of the virus and public health orders that it generated results in mass layoffs across numerous industries.

The latest wave of jobless claims follows a spike in the virus and tightening public health restrictions that include shutting down dine-in service at restaurants in counties where the virus is spreading at high rates. Health officials in the state have already moved 25 counties to the red level of the state’s recently updated COVID-19 restriction dial, the strictest level before a stay-at-home order is put in place.

“Recovery is dependent on getting COVID-19 under control,” state labor economist Ryan Gedney said in a media call last week.

For the second week in a row, the state did not share the numbers of new filings for the federally funded Pandemic Unemployment Assitance program with the U.S. Department of Labor. That program has been fraught with fraud and the state is investigating the latest spike in new claims for that program.

Colorado is not alone in seeing its unemployment numbers rise along with its COVID-19 infections. Nationally, new claims totals rose to 778,000 last week, up from 748,000 a week prior.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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