A weekly series: Putting Nebraska's unemployment claims into context. If someone points out to you that unemployment claims are up only 8 percent in the latest report from the previous week, that's correct, but ignores the fact that they're up 3,270 percent from before corona.

Put another way: The 26,788 initial claims this past week are 26,010 more than the average number of pre-corona weekly initial claims in 2020. Until mid-March, the state averaged 778 initial claims a week. Last week, Nebraska averaged 3,827 per DAY.

This week's initial unemployment claims are more than the combined populations of Arthur, McPherson, Blaine, Loup, Thomas, Hooker, Banner, Grant, Keya Paha, Wheeler, Logan, Hayes, Sioux, Rock, Garden, Deuel, Garfield, Gosper, Dundy, Boyd and Greeley counties.

The 67,213 Nebraskans who filed for unemployment in the last three weeks are the combined populations of Arthur, McPherson, Blaine, Loup, Thomas, Hooker, Banner, Grant, Keya Paha, Wheeler, Logan, Hayes, Sioux, Rock, Garden, Deuel, Garfield, Gosper, Dundy, Boyd, Greeley ...

... Frontier, Pawnee, Hitchcock, Perkins, Brown, Franklin, Sherman, Harlan, Nance, Webster, Kimball and Chase counties.

People filing for unemployment in Nebraska in the last three weeks are now the fourth largest county in the state. Only Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy counties are larger by population.

The last three weeks would be the 17th worst year for initial unemployment claims since 1987 in Nebraska. If a similar number of claims come in next week, it'll jump to the fourth worst year of the last 34. Only 2009-2011 -- the global financial collapse -- will be worse.