The U.S. is making significant progress in the fight against COVID-19 with the distribution of the vaccine and boosters, but the impact on the job market has lagged behind, with new unemployment claims increasing week-over-week on January 3. There are currently 6.3 million Americans unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in total, and it’s important to look at some key stats for the latest week to get the full picture:
- There were 230,000 new unemployment claims nationwide, which is a lot fewer than the 6.1 million during the peak of the pandemic (a 96% reduction).
- While there was an increase in weekly claims nationally, 49 states (including Kansas, Virginia, and New Mexico) had unemployment claims last week that were better than the same week last year.
- Every state had unemployment claims last week that were higher than before the pandemic except for Georgia, Arkansas, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Alabama, Delaware, New York, Virginia, Maine, Maryland, Connecticut, and Oklahoma.
To identify which states’ workforces are experiencing the biggest increases in unemployment claims due to COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on changes in unemployment claims for several key benchmark weeks.
Main Findings
States with Biggest Increases in Unemployment Claims
| State | Increased Most Since Last Week | Increased Most Since Start of COVID-19 Crisis |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | 1 | 14 |
| District of Columbia | 2 | 1 |
| Indiana | 3 | 8 |
| Tennessee | 4 | 9 |
| Kentucky | 5 | 12 |
| North Dakota | 6 | 41 |
| Missouri | 7 | 26 |
| Wyoming | 8 | 39 |
| Ohio | 9 | 13 |
| Texas | 10 | 18 |
| Hawaii | 11 | 17 |
| California | 12 | 30 |
| Montana | 13 | 40 |
| Oregon | 14 | 35 |
| West Virginia | 15 | 19 |
| South Dakota | 16 | 45 |
| Nevada | 17 | 23 |
| Florida | 18 | 34 |
| Michigan | 19 | 20 |
| Alaska | 20 | 15 |
| Minnesota | 21 | 37 |
| Iowa | 22 | 49 |
| Wisconsin | 23 | 27 |
| Vermont | 24 | 31 |
| Louisiana | 25 | 11 |
| Illinois | 26 | 28 |
| Nebraska | 27 | 29 |
| New Jersey | 28 | 46 |
| Kansas | 29 | 50 |
| Colorado | 30 | 16 |
| Mississippi | 31 | 22 |
| Washington | 32 | 43 |
| New Mexico | 33 | 2 |
| Connecticut | 34 | 42 |
| Massachusetts | 35 | 32 |
| Idaho | 36 | 24 |
| Arizona | 37 | 48 |
| North Carolina | 38 | 33 |
| Maine | 39 | 25 |
| New York | 40 | 36 |
| Oklahoma | 41 | 5 |
| Alabama | 42 | 10 |
| Maryland | 43 | 21 |
| Pennsylvania | 44 | 44 |
| Delaware | 45 | 6 |
| South Carolina | 46 | 51 |
| New Hampshire | 47 | 38 |
| Virginia | 48 | 4 |
| Rhode Island | 49 | 3 |
| Arkansas | 50 | 47 |
| Georgia | 51 | 7 |
Rank 1 = Biggest Increase
Detailed Findings
| State | Change in Unemployment Claims (Latest Week vs. 2019)* | Change in Unemployment Claims (Latest Week vs. Start of 2020)** | Change in Unemployment Claims (Latest Week vs. Same Week of 2021)*** | Change in Unemployment Claims (One Year After the Pandemic Started vs. Pre-Pandemic Year)**** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 382.55% | 433.73% | 111.82% | 120.01% |
| District of Columbia | 134.03% | 479.00% | 48.45% | 439.13% |
| Indiana | 166.71% | 175.37% | -31.11% | 145.88% |
| Tennessee | 170.68% | 204.12% | -57.28% | 142.88% |
| Kentucky | 75.93% | 116.79% | -1.58% | 124.14% |
| North Dakota | 64.42% | 89.59% | -18.55% | 32.86% |
| Missouri | 70.38% | 61.49% | -27.72% | 71.24% |
| Wyoming | 71.00% | 37.16% | -30.95% | 39.76% |
| Ohio | 74.70% | 62.12% | -53.28% | 122.19% |
| Texas | 76.69% | 84.38% | -64.77% | 104.68% |
| Hawaii | 51.02% | 57.48% | -43.18% | 105.67% |
| California | 63.40% | 71.48% | -65.52% | 67.24% |
| Montana | 42.56% | 43.47% | -27.89% | 34.78% |
| Oregon | 31.96% | 42.49% | -25.81% | 55.15% |
| West Virginia | 46.68% | 31.39% | -43.74% | 100.45% |
| South Dakota | 46.33% | 30.15% | -47.41% | 17.16% |
| Nevada | 45.22% | 57.16% | -62.59% | 84.48% |
| Florida | 32.17% | 110.16% | -68.27% | 61.49% |
| Michigan | 18.19% | 37.63% | -26.27% | 98.28% |
| Alaska | 32.66% | 67.69% | -57.82% | 113.22% |
| Minnesota | 26.74% | 38.96% | -41.43% | 47.61% |
| Iowa | 23.00% | 15.33% | -28.20% | -2.26% |
| Wisconsin | 23.37% | 14.36% | -34.90% | 69.58% |
| Vermont | 27.90% | 31.47% | -51.15% | 65.46% |
| Louisiana | 43.26% | 57.78% | -87.90% | 136.59% |
| Illinois | 41.07% | 41.78% | -82.41% | 69.48% |
| Nebraska | 27.22% | 48.41% | -68.72% | 69.14% |
| New Jersey | 3.53% | 6.17% | -25.49% | 11.31% |
| Kansas | 38.81% | 50.22% | -91.56% | -5.52% |
| Colorado | 23.99% | 38.21% | -76.40% | 107.11% |
| Mississippi | 28.63% | 36.16% | -83.75% | 88.91% |
| Washington | 15.42% | 14.63% | -59.36% | 28.29% |
| New Mexico | 21.01% | 64.33% | -88.60% | 277.77% |
| Connecticut | -10.05% | -0.52% | -24.06% | 29.95% |
| Massachusetts | 10.93% | 20.17% | -64.38% | 65.13% |
| Idaho | 6.53% | -16.13% | -47.07% | 74.47% |
| Arizona | 2.37% | 0.86% | -74.34% | -1.10% |
| North Carolina | 1.50% | 6.33% | -76.28% | 63.54% |
| Maine | -13.22% | -4.87% | -57.85% | 71.80% |
| New York | -17.40% | -17.00% | -49.10% | 48.70% |
| Oklahoma | -9.47% | -19.10% | -66.07% | 212.87% |
| Alabama | -21.76% | 9.04% | -63.00% | 139.48% |
| Maryland | -10.43% | 0.48% | -82.67% | 97.60% |
| Pennsylvania | -27.54% | -26.40% | -51.50% | 25.65% |
| Delaware | -21.49% | -11.09% | -78.87% | 196.82% |
| South Carolina | -32.62% | -46.66% | -50.48% | -12.97% |
| New Hampshire | -22.90% | -9.71% | -83.86% | 45.96% |
| Virginia | -17.28% | -16.22% | -90.54% | 249.64% |
| Rhode Island | -33.68% | -21.50% | -80.15% | 261.48% |
| Arkansas | -49.65% | -32.03% | -72.52% | 2.55% |
| Georgia | -61.42% | -59.75% | -81.46% | 164.72% |
*Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of January 3, 2022 compared to the week of January 7, 2019.
**Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of January 3, 2022 compared to the week of January 1, 2020.
***Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of January 3, 2022 compared to the week of January 4, 2021.
**** Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of March 15, 2021 to January 3, 2022 compared to the weeks of March 18, 2019 to January 6, 2020.
Coronavirus Job Losses vs. Great Recession
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
States That Ended Unemployment Benefits Early vs. Unemployment Claims Recovery
Note: Rank 1 for the “Unemployment Claims Recovery Rank” means most recovered since last week.
The Status on Ending Unemployment Benefits Early is a binary metric corresponding to each state's decision to end enhanced federal unemployment benefits related to the coronavirus pandemic early:
- 1 - States that ended benefits early;
- 0 - States that did not end benefits.
Red States vs. Blue States
Ask the Experts
Facing a pandemic is stressful enough by itself, but many Americans must deal with losing their employment on top of health concerns. To help guide Americans in this time of crisis, WalletHub turned to a panel of experts to provide some additional insight. Click on the experts below to view their bios and responses to the following key questions:
- What is your advice for people who don’t qualify for further stimulus payments?
- What do you think of insured unemployment as a measure for unemployment?
- How has the vaccine distribution affected the job market’s ability to recover?
- Could the stimulus relief be extended into 2022?
- How has the shortage in available workers influenced unemployment claims?
Ask the Experts
Ph.D. – Broadus Mitchell Associate Professor of Economics – Johns Hopkins University
Read More
DPhil, JD, AB – Arthur B. Hodges Professor of Law – West Virginia University College of Law
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J.D. – Associate Professor – Sacred Heart University
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Melvin T. Stith Professor of Business Administration – Florida State University and Honorary Research Fellow – Australian Catholic University
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Adjunct Professor of Economics, Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business – Clemson University
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Professor of Law Emerita, Program Chair, Paralegal Studies, School of Professional and Continuing Studies – University of Richmond
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Methodology
In order to identify which states have experienced the biggest increases in unemployment claims due to COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on changes in unemployment insurance initial claims for several key weeks. We then used those metrics to give two separate rankings to the states.
Our first ranking is based on the most recent data only, and uses the following metrics:
- Change in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims in Latest Week vs. 2019: Triple Weight (~60.00 Points)
Note: This metric measures the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of January 3, 2022 compared to the week of January 7, 2019. - Change in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims in Latest Week vs. Start of 2020: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
Note: This metric measures the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of January 3, 2022 compared to the week of January 1, 2020. - Change in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims in Latest Week vs. Same Week of 2021: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
Note: This metric measures the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of January 3, 2022 compared to the week of January 4, 2021.
The second ranking is based on cumulative data since the beginning of the pandemic:
- Change in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims One Year After the Pandemic Started vs. Pre-Pandemic Year: Full Weight (~100.00 Points)
Note: Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of March 15, 2021 to January 3, 2022 compared to the weeks of March 18, 2019 to January 6, 2020.
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor.