The U.S. is making significant progress in the fight against COVID-19 with the distribution of the vaccine, and this has been reflected in the job market, as new unemployment claims decreased week-over-week on September 27. There are currently 8.4 million Americans unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in total, though, and it’s important to look at some key stats for the latest week to get the full picture:
- There were 326,000 new unemployment claims nationwide, which is a lot fewer than the 6.1 million during the peak of the pandemic (a 95% reduction).
- 18 states had unemployment claims last week that were lower than before the pandemic: South Carolina, Arkansas, West Virginia, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nevada, Illinois, Washington, New Hampshire, Arizona, North Dakota, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey.
- Surprisingly, D.C. had unemployment claims last week that were worse than the same week last year.
To identify which states’ workforces are experiencing the quickest recovery from 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 Whose Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest
| State | Recovered Most Since Last Week | Recovered Most Since Start of COVID-19 Crisis |
|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | 1 | 2 |
| Arkansas | 2 | 11 |
| Kansas | 3 | 4 |
| South Dakota | 4 | 5 |
| West Virginia | 5 | 47 |
| Montana | 6 | 27 |
| New Hampshire | 7 | 3 |
| Missouri | 8 | 28 |
| Illinois | 9 | 42 |
| Washington | 10 | 8 |
| Wyoming | 11 | 32 |
| North Dakota | 12 | 16 |
| Delaware | 13 | 49 |
| Nevada | 14 | 23 |
| Massachusetts | 15 | 24 |
| Maryland | 16 | 35 |
| Iowa | 17 | 17 |
| Rhode Island | 18 | 51 |
| Idaho | 19 | 38 |
| Georgia | 20 | 10 |
| New Jersey | 21 | 21 |
| New York | 22 | 19 |
| Mississippi | 23 | 14 |
| Arizona | 24 | 7 |
| North Carolina | 25 | 6 |
| Colorado | 26 | 30 |
| Connecticut | 27 | 33 |
| Florida | 28 | 1 |
| Oklahoma | 29 | 34 |
| Kentucky | 30 | 13 |
| Vermont | 31 | 44 |
| Maine | 32 | 12 |
| Utah | 33 | 45 |
| Indiana | 34 | 20 |
| Pennsylvania | 35 | 29 |
| Ohio | 36 | 41 |
| Wisconsin | 37 | 39 |
| Texas | 38 | 37 |
| Louisiana | 39 | 15 |
| Minnesota | 40 | 9 |
| Alaska | 41 | 43 |
| Oregon | 42 | 46 |
| Alabama | 43 | 36 |
| Tennessee | 44 | 31 |
| New Mexico | 45 | 48 |
| Hawaii | 46 | 25 |
| California | 47 | 26 |
| Nebraska | 48 | 18 |
| Michigan | 49 | 22 |
| Virginia | 50 | 40 |
| District of Columbia | 51 | 50 |
Rank 1 = Most Recovered
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 2020)*** | Change in Unemployment Claims (Since Start of COVID-19 Crisis vs. Previous Year)**** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | -50.95% | -84.51% | -76.43% | -91.16% |
| Arkansas | -47.29% | -61.45% | -81.89% | -84.59% |
| Kansas | -26.86% | -52.25% | -93.22% | -90.24% |
| South Dakota | -37.84% | -71.11% | -74.10% | -89.56% |
| West Virginia | -45.91% | -57.74% | -66.24% | -62.43% |
| Montana | -27.92% | -50.03% | -77.62% | -77.77% |
| New Hampshire | -17.55% | -50.29% | -83.53% | -91.13% |
| Missouri | -23.69% | -65.01% | -70.77% | -76.76% |
| Illinois | -18.28% | -41.27% | -80.92% | -70.02% |
| Washington | -18.04% | -50.16% | -73.04% | -85.61% |
| Wyoming | -30.73% | -54.38% | -60.21% | -75.18% |
| North Dakota | -14.42% | -68.06% | -68.25% | -82.23% |
| Delaware | -8.70% | -52.00% | -76.35% | -50.25% |
| Nevada | -18.72% | -15.59% | -75.94% | -78.82% |
| Massachusetts | 2.90% | -52.40% | -84.72% | -78.41% |
| Maryland | -7.95% | -38.10% | -77.58% | -74.85% |
| Iowa | -20.69% | -61.47% | -58.79% | -81.93% |
| Rhode Island | 4.55% | -69.73% | -78.69% | -35.85% |
| Idaho | 3.65% | -75.04% | -75.03% | -72.54% |
| Georgia | 18.75% | -66.29% | -87.18% | -85.28% |
| New Jersey | -4.93% | -52.10% | -69.00% | -79.76% |
| New York | 15.27% | -69.43% | -78.63% | -80.56% |
| Mississippi | 2.51% | -16.81% | -75.69% | -83.09% |
| Arizona | -16.53% | 0.61% | -60.44% | -85.78% |
| North Carolina | 0.03% | 7.38% | -75.75% | -88.05% |
| Colorado | 1.63% | -17.77% | -66.23% | -76.47% |
| Connecticut | 0.95% | -70.33% | -49.53% | -75.17% |
| Florida | 7.20% | 40.95% | -84.61% | -91.50% |
| Oklahoma | 12.41% | -35.37% | -67.09% | -75.04% |
| Kentucky | 11.36% | -47.90% | -52.59% | -83.33% |
| Vermont | 15.41% | -52.65% | -46.86% | -68.30% |
| Maine | 42.03% | -64.64% | -65.45% | -83.48% |
| Utah | 16.14% | -21.81% | -53.90% | -67.35% |
| Indiana | 30.05% | -21.63% | -65.51% | -80.27% |
| Pennsylvania | 25.02% | -51.63% | -33.47% | -76.65% |
| Ohio | 44.07% | -17.53% | -52.43% | -70.02% |
| Wisconsin | 54.49% | -54.65% | -51.08% | -71.83% |
| Texas | 29.98% | 48.68% | -56.57% | -72.89% |
| Louisiana | 50.38% | 77.86% | -78.09% | -82.75% |
| Minnesota | 62.43% | -37.75% | -53.18% | -85.51% |
| Alaska | 57.13% | 37.10% | -63.83% | -69.56% |
| Oregon | 24.57% | -35.21% | -1.32% | -67.26% |
| Alabama | 79.10% | -22.91% | -52.35% | -73.82% |
| Tennessee | 61.01% | 50.36% | -53.98% | -76.23% |
| New Mexico | 55.27% | 84.23% | -57.75% | -57.47% |
| Hawaii | 90.85% | 32.60% | -52.39% | -78.20% |
| California | 104.67% | 85.75% | -69.84% | -77.85% |
| Nebraska | 168.93% | -6.28% | -68.40% | -80.71% |
| Michigan | 122.89% | 14.81% | -14.33% | -78.89% |
| Virginia | 316.58% | 205.77% | -10.10% | -71.56% |
| District of Columbia | 714.58% | 712.89% | 137.11% | -47.65% |
*Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of September 27, 2021 compared to the week of September 30, 2019.
**Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of September 27, 2021 compared to the week of January 1, 2020.
***Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of September 27, 2021 compared to the week of September 28, 2020.
****Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of March 15, 2021 to September 27, 2021 compared to the weeks of March 16, 2020 to September 28, 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 opinion on the $1.9 trillion emergency relief package that has been passed by Congress and signed by President Biden? Will this be sufficient to ensure full relief?
- What is your advice for people who don’t qualify for the stimulus payments?
- What do you think of insured unemployment as a measure for unemployment?
- How is vaccine distribution affecting the job market’s ability to recover?
Ask the Experts
- Patrick Button
Assistant Professor of Economics, School of Liberal Arts – Tulane University
Read More
- Alan Benson
Assistant Professor, Mary and Jim Lawrence Fellow, Carlson School of Management – University of Minnesota
Read More
- Andrew Weaver
Assistant Professor, School of Labor and Employment Relations – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Read More
- Gerald Friedman
Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Read More
- Robert Kaestner
Harris School of Public Policy – University of Chicago
Read More
- Henry H. Perritt, Jr.
Professor of Law Emeritus, Director of the Graduate Program in Financial Services Law Emeritus, Kent College of Law – Illinois Institute of Technology
Read More
Methodology
In order to identify where states’ workforces have recovered most from 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 September 27, 2021 compared to the week of September 30, 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 September 27, 2021 compared to the week of January 1, 2020. - Change in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims in Latest Week vs. Same Week 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 September 27, 2021 compared to the week of September 28, 2020.
The second ranking is based on cumulative data since the beginning of the pandemic:
- Change in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims Since Start of COVID-19 Crisis to the Same Week Last Year vs. the Same Period in 2021: 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 September 27, 2021 compared to the weeks of March 16, 2020 to September 28, 2020.
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor.