Colorado's new unemployment filings peaked at 408,644 in fiscal year 2010 in the last recession -- an average of 7,859 new cases per week. As COVID-19 spread in March 2020, new filings hit 10,700 after ski resorts, restaurants and bars were ordered to close. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said 3,900 cases were filed on March 16 and another 6,800 the next morning, as of 10 a.m. on March 17. This chart only includes Colorado's annual new claims between 2004-2019.