Due to the progress the U.S. is making in the fight against COVID-19, new unemployment claims decreased week-over-week on March 15, and were 90% 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 Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest, along with accompanying videos and audio files.
Key Stats:
- Surprisingly, three states (Alabama, West Virginia, and Georgia) had unemployment claims last week that were worse than the same week last year.
- Arkansas had unemployment claims last week that were lower than before the pandemic.
| Most Recovered Last Week | Least Recovered Last Week |
| 1. Arkansas | 42. Indiana |
| 2. New Jersey | 43. Massachusetts |
| 3. South Dakota | 44. Texas |
| 4. Pennsylvania | 45. Alabama |
| 5. South Carolina | 46. Georgia |
| 6. Arizona | 47. West Virginia |
| 7. Vermont | 48. Colorado |
| 8. New Hampshire | 49. Nevada |
| 9. Kansas | 50. Ohio |
| 10. Illinois | 51. Virginia |
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-unemployment-claims/72730/
WalletHub Q&A
Should we expect Easter spending to impact unemployment?
“Easter spending will help reduce unemployment, as Easter is typically one of the biggest holidays for spending during the year. As a result, businesses should see an uptick in revenue, which could help them hire more,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “While the COVID-19 pandemic will affect how much people spend this Easter, the encouraging news is that 47% fewer people say their spending plans are impacted this year compared to last year, according to a recent WalletHub survey.”
Do you expect companies to require getting the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition for employment?
“It is likely that some companies will require getting the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition for employment, with obvious exemptions for people who are medically unable to receive it,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “Companies should be able to have a COVID-19 vaccine requirement because they need to do everything in their power to keep their workers and customers safe. In addition, the more companies that require employees to get a vaccine, the faster we will be able to achieve a full reopening.”
How might a state’s efficiency at administering the COVID-19 vaccine affect unemployment?
“States that are able to more efficiently vaccinate their residents will likely see better job growth than states that are less efficient. The more a state vaccinates, the safer conditions in that state will become and the sooner businesses will be able to fully reopen and have the resources to expand hiring,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “Currently, some places are far more efficient than others. For example, North Dakota has used 88% of its vaccine supply, while Alabama has only used 64%.”
How do red states and blue states compare when it comes to recovery?
“With an average rank of 25 among the most recovered states, blue states had a better recovery from unemployment claims last week than red states, which rank 27 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 22nd slowest recovery in the U.S. For the week of March 15, California had 95,863 new unemployment claims, a 91% decrease from the peak during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst.
