Nearly 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week — more than quadruple the previous record set in 1982 — amid a widespread economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus.

More jobless claims are being filed during the coronavirus pandemic than during the 2008-09 Great Recession, the Georgia Department of Labor reported Thursday, March 26.

The number of claims statewide last week was 12,140, up 6,695 from the previous week’s 5,445 claims, according to a labor department press release.

The department “anticipates substantially higher claims in the coming weeks,” the department said.

Also, the number of users on its website has skyrocketed, increasing from 59,000 in the first week of March to 110,000 on Wednesday, March 25.

The Department of Labor has specific instructions about how to file amid the pandemic.