Nearly four million Americans filed unemployment claims last week, according to

by the U.S. Department of Labor. That includes nearly 91,000 new unemployment claims from Kentucky.

Nationwide,

amid the coronavirus pandemic. In Kentucky, more than half a million workers have filed for unemployment as the economic toll has become evident from efforts to fight COVID-19.

Here is a look at the total number of initial unemployment claims filed in Kentucky, according to numbers provided by the

, since the COVID-19 pandemic hit here in mid-March:

Week ending March 14: 2,785 (This was the last “normal” week before the dramatic rise in claims began as shut down orders went into effect.)

Week ending March 21: 49,023

Week ending March 28: 113,149

Week ending April 4: 117,575

Week ending April 11: 116,277

Week ending April 18: 103,981

Week ending April 25: 90,824

Total number of initial unemployment claims filed in Kentucky between March 15 and April 25: 590,829

As a result, many who have applied for unemployment benefits have

in getting processed or receiving payments.

Even the

, which was intended to help those who have struggled to get through to operators, was marred by technical glitches.

State leaders have chalked up the challenges to the raw volume of claims.

"It's a task that no state has ever faced," Gov. Andy Beshear has said, "but we've got to rise up and be able to do it."

Earlier this week Gov. Beshear pledged that anyone with unresolved unemployment claims from March would have their claim processed by the end of the week.

The governor said that 150,000 of those claims were processed on Sunday, leaving 37,000 remaining by Tuesday. On Wednesday that number was down to 29,000, Gov. Beshear said. Many of those remaining have identity verification issues, he said.

Unsurprisingly, estimates show that, moving forward, the high number of unemployed will likely have an impact on economic recovery.

"The most recent observations in the state and national economy show some weakness," the report states, citing 500,000 who have filed for unemployment in the past five weeks. "To put that in perspective, roughly 25

percent of Kentucky’s workforce is currently without employment." — Garrett Wymer (@GarrettWKYT) April 30, 2020

Kentucky's

says a quarter of the state's workforce is currently out of a job.

The state expects its revenue to drop amid a projected recession, leading to a potential General Fund revenue shortfall of $318.7 to $495.7 million.