To identify which states’ workforces are experiencing the quickest recovery from COVID-19, WalletHub 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, along with a WalletHub Q&A. To see the states most recovered since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.
| Most Recovered Last Week | Least Recovered Last Week |
| 1. Michigan | 42. Alaska |
| 2. Oregon | 43. Illinois |
| 3. Vermont | 44. Virginia |
| 4. South Carolina | 45. New Mexico |
| 5. Pennsylvania | 46. Indiana |
| 6. Connecticut | 47. Georgia |
| 7. West Virginia | 48. Louisiana |
| 8. Iowa | 49. Florida |
| 9. South Dakota | 50. Massachusetts |
| 10. Kentucky | 51. Kansas |
States with Weekly Claims Better Than Last Year:
- Michigan
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-unemployment-claims/72730/.
Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like to schedule a phone, Skype or in-studio interview with one of our analysts. Full data sets for specific states are also available upon request. In addition, feel free to embed this YouTube video summarizing the study on your website. You can also use or edit these raw files (audio and video) as you see fit.
Best,
Diana Polk
WalletHub Communications Manager
(202) 684-6386
WalletHub Q&A
Should the government step in to help industries like movie theaters avoid going bankrupt?
“The government should take actions to prevent highly-impacted industries such as movie theaters from going bankrupt. Government restrictions on capacity, though essential for safety, have caused many places to become unprofitable. We should protect businesses against bankruptcy to prevent another rise in unemployment,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “In order to receive assistance, companies and landlords in danger of bankruptcy should also be willing to share in the cost. The government can’t be solely responsible for bailing everyone out.”
How will Halloween impact unemployment?
“Halloween should have a positive impact on unemployment, since it will drive consumers to spend money on food, candy, costumes and decorations to celebrate. This will boost business revenue and likely lead to more hiring,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “Naturally, there will be less spending this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Retail Federation projects that consumers will still spend $8.05 billion, compared to $8.78 billion in 2019, though, which is a smaller reduction than one might expect.”
What are the best ways to reduce unemployment right now considering there might not be more stimulus money until after the election?
“In order to reduce unemployment as quickly as possible without new stimulus money, local governments need to step up their efforts to ensure health while opening up the economy. We need aggressive safety measures, which means, for example, that masks should be mandatory for everyone in public, and restaurants should be allowed to use as much outdoor space as possible to avoid having crowded conditions inside,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “We need to provide teachers with all the PPP that they need so that parents have the ability to make the right choice for their families. Perhaps most importantly, we need widespread rapid testing that prevents infected people from entering fully reopened public spaces.”
If a coronavirus vaccine is distributed before the end of the year, how could that impact unemployment?
“If a coronavirus vaccine becomes available before the end of the year, that’s great news for unemployment. If most people are vaccinated against COVID-19, the transmission risk will be minimized and we will finally be able to achieve a full reopening. Business revenue will increase, and as a result, businesses will have a greater ability to hire,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “Even though it would be great to have a vaccine this year, it’s important to make sure that clinical trials are not rushed so that the final product has the best efficacy possible. We may also face an uphill battle getting people vaccinated, as recent surveys suggest as much as a third of the population would refuse the vaccine.”
How do red states and blue states compare when it comes to recovery?
“With an average rank of 24 among the most recovered states, red states had a better recovery from unemployment claims last week than blue states, which rank 29 on average,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “The lower the number of the ranking, the bigger the state’s recovery was.”
How has unemployment in California – the state with the most COVID-19 cases – recovered?
“California’s unemployment claims have experienced the 12th slowest recovery in the U.S. For the week of October 12, California had 158,877 new unemployment claims, an 85% decrease from the peak during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst.