President Donald Trump's administration has asked state labor officials to temporarily withhold releasing the number of unemployment claims they are receiving, the New York Times reported Thursday.

What Happened

The United States Department of Labor sent an email to state officials asking them to only use loose terms like "very high" or "large increase" when talking about unemployment rates and not mention specific numbers, according to the Times.

The email shared with the Times by a state governor's office said that the financial markets closely monitor the unemployment reports, and therefore, should remain embargoed until the federal government releases its next numbers on March 26.

Why It Matters

The stock market has seen some of the worst single-day drops in the last two weeks since the crash of October, 1987.

The drop comes as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought the economy to a halt, with a number of businesses required to stop functioning or otherwise seeing no customers.

The number of unemployment claims facing states has skyrocketed since the pandemic took hold in the country.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of unemployment benefits filings increased 33% at 281,000 across the country this week.

Unemployment cases in Virginia jumped a massive 33 times this week, in Maryland were up five times, the Washington Post reported. Colorado reported 11,000 new claims filed on Monday and Tuesday alone, up from the weekly average of 400, the Post noted.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin warned Republican senators on Tuesday that the U.S. unemployment rate could increase to 20% if an economic stimulus is not injected. The stock market fell sharply on Wednesday after his comments.

See more from Benzinga

© 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.