More than 213K Coloradans have filed for unemployment in the last four weeks.

The unemployment rate in Colorado climbed to 4.5 percent in March as the stay-at-home order was issued to prevent the outbreak of COVID-19, according to reports.

The percentage is the highest Colorado has seen since August 2015, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) stated on Friday. The rate has almost doubled since February when the unemployment rate was 2.5 percent.

THE CDLE stated that national employment also rose to 4.4 percent in March, which demonstrates the Colorado unemployment rate is now higher than the national rate. The last time this occurred was in June 2005.

The CDLE estimated the rates of March based on the pay period for the week of March 12. The data provides an initial estimate of Colorado's unemployment surge during the first stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, job losses continued to increase after that week, when Gov. Jared Polis issued the closing of ski areas, restaurants, and bars to prevent the spread of the virus.

In the first week of April, more than 104,000 Coloradans filed for unemployment. In the past four weeks, more than 230,000 Coloradans filed unemployment claims.

Self-employed workers can now apply for unemployment benefits, including independent contractors and gig workers. Additionally, it will extend an extra 13 weeks of federal benefits to workers who exhaust their 26 weeks and offer up to $600 a week to anyone who is already receiving benefits of any kind.