Initial claims for pandemic unemployment in Colorado are reaching new heights this month, according to data released Thursday by the Department of Labor and Employment.

There were 20,621 pandemic unemployment claims made during the week ending Dec. 12, an increase of nearly 3,000 from the previous week and the second-highest number of weekly initial claims ever.

The only time Colorado has seen more weekly claims was the week ending April 25, the first week the pandemic unemployment program was launched.

This puts Colorado’s pandemic unemployment rate at an eight-month high after eight weeks of continuous increase.

The state’s regular unemployment rate isn’t fairing much better.

For the week ending Dec. 12, 19,854 initial claims for regular unemployment were filed. That marks the eighth week in a row that claims have risen and the highest amount of weekly initial claims since May 9.

In addition, Colorado broke a 19-week streak of lowering continued unemployment claims, with continued claims rising on Nov. 28 and Dec. 5 for the first time since July.

Colorado is experiencing one of the worst unemployment crises in the country. On Dec. 7, the state had the third-largest weekly increase in unemployment claims in the U.S., according to a WalletHub report.

Since March, the state has paid $6.49 billion in unemployment claims, including $2.37 billion in regular unemployment and $923.4 million in pandemic unemployment.

Accommodation and food service workers make up the bulk of Colorado’s recently unemployed, accounting for 45.5% of initial claims for the week ending on Nov. 28.

They are followed by construction workers with 7.3% and healthcare and social assistance workers with 6.3%.