HOUSTON – As many service and hospitality workers in Texas have recently lost their jobs due to business closures, the number of those applying for unemployment benefits has substantially increased.

In just over a week, many nonessential businesses were forced to close following recommendations by the government.

For those working in the service or hospitality industry, working from home isn’t an option. Unfortunately, some businesses will have to layoff employees if they don’t have the appropriate funds to distribute fair pay.

Houston Business Journal reports more than 19,000 unemployment benefits claims were submitted to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) on Tuesday, March 17 alone, compared to just 3,100 claims the week prior.

The total number of claims made by Texans from March 1-14 total to 37,170, a TWC spokesperson confirmed to Houston Business Journal. Of those claims, 19,968 were submitted to the Texas Workforce Commission from March 8-14.