Number of Texans filing unemployment claims increased for second week in a row as 117,244 sought benefits
It was the second week in a row that the number of claims rose. The peak of unemployment claims came in early April, when more than 315,000 Texans applied for the benefit in a single week. Texas unemployment rate hit an all-time high of 13.5% in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Later, during the Great Recession, the unemployment rate in the state never surpassed 8.3%. The states unemployment rate is the share of Texans in the labor force who are out of work.