The Maine Department of Labor is calling a sharp rise in new claims for unemployment benefit “suspicious.”

The state saw a record-high 37,000 initial claims last week, but officials announced this week that the state had discovered 2,200 fraudulent unemployment claims. Those payments are under investigation.

Labor officials said 16,500 claims for traditional jobless benefits were filed last week, while another 20,500 were for benefits under a new federal program that was part of a coronavirus-relief bill in late March.