Despite the fact that the U.S. is still struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, new unemployment claims decreased week-over-week on August 17, and were still 85% below the peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. To help add some context to these statistics, WalletHub just released updated rankings for the States Whose Weekly Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest.
To identify which states’ workforces are experiencing the quickest recovery from COVID-19, the site compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three metrics based on changes in unemployment claims. Below, you can see highlights from the report.
Most Recovered Last Week | Least Recovered Last Week |
1. Oregon | 42. Nevada |
2. North Dakota | 43. Virginia |
3. West Virginia | 44. Alaska |
4. Connecticut | 45. California |
5. Vermont | 46. Kentucky |
6. Pennsylvania | 47. Louisiana |
7. New Jersey | 48. New Mexico |
8. South Carolina | 49. Florida |
9. Maine | 50. Georgia |
10. Maryland | 51. Kansas |
Detailed Findings
State | Change in Unemployment Claims (Latest Week vs. Last Year)* | Change in Unemployment Claims (Latest Week vs Start of 2020)** | Change in Unemployment Claims (Since Start of COVID-19 Crisis vs. Last Year)*** |
---|---|---|---|
Oregon | 56.10% | -24.11% | 679.79% |
North Dakota | 48.70% | -3.95% | 1226.74% |
West Virginia | 124.85% | 20.91% | 1033.45% |
Connecticut | 153.71% | -18.48% | 672.57% |
Vermont | 146.56% | -5.00% | 807.08% |
Pennsylvania | 146.30% | -1.26% | 838.55% |
New Jersey | 149.94% | 26.33% | 708.67% |
South Carolina | 184.60% | -26.06% | 1485.40% |
Maine | 215.14% | -33.67% | 1618.66% |
Maryland | 154.47% | 72.80% | 1210.32% |
Missouri | 221.85% | 12.95% | 1041.39% |
Oklahoma | 215.89% | 74.31% | 2066.40% |
Iowa | 231.30% | 51.64% | 848.54% |
Wyoming | 253.97% | 27.79% | 869.84% |
Arkansas | 226.36% | 102.83% | 888.29% |
Delaware | 251.03% | 74.51% | 1035.78% |
New York | 281.58% | 40.73% | 1028.20% |
Ohio | 267.30% | 68.41% | 1192.44% |
Utah | 252.82% | 97.56% | 1014.90% |
Illinois | 243.45% | 115.07% | 835.77% |
Wisconsin | 335.83% | 8.16% | 855.57% |
Alabama | 298.00% | 71.14% | 1283.42% |
Montana | 320.11% | 41.03% | 902.35% |
Rhode Island | 310.62% | 56.80% | 921.74% |
Michigan | 348.25% | 28.67% | 1378.09% |
Massachusetts | 325.10% | 81.29% | 1049.93% |
Washington | 330.65% | 105.36% | 1303.74% |
District of Columbia | 257.73% | 227.23% | 1209.35% |
Idaho | 414.27% | 21.91% | 1015.27% |
Colorado | 331.90% | 164.01% | 1411.47% |
Minnesota | 406.59% | 48.58% | 1440.39% |
South Dakota | 422.22% | 88.94% | 1617.25% |
Arizona | 287.02% | 336.81% | 872.40% |
Mississippi | 346.11% | 245.76% | 1510.90% |
North Carolina | 347.69% | 267.16% | 1851.53% |
Texas | 314.60% | 323.05% | 1077.31% |
Indiana | 441.88% | 143.08% | 1852.49% |
Nebraska | 458.68% | 146.04% | 1186.84% |
Hawaii | 426.50% | 227.73% | 1200.75% |
Tennessee | 451.55% | 256.61% | 1356.27% |
New Hampshire | 477.28% | 257.25% | 2295.77% |
Nevada | 397.07% | 394.43% | 1247.57% |
Virginia | 526.58% | 303.70% | 2000.30% |
Alaska | 552.64% | 366.36% | 1016.10% |
California | 505.61% | 470.58% | 880.42% |
Kentucky | 712.26% | 209.84% | 1913.87% |
Louisiana | 472.97% | 581.48% | 1882.58% |
New Mexico | 600.00% | 485.23% | 1283.17% |
Florida | 625.19% | 890.10% | 2440.44% |
Georgia | 1114.74% | 216.86% | 3207.87% |
Kansas | 1238.63% | 684.35% | 1148.39% |