States Whose Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest
| State | Recovered Most Since Last Week | Recovered Most Since Start of COVID-19 Crisis |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 1 | 12 |
| New Jersey | 2 | 5 |
| Vermont | 3 | 6 |
| Arizona | 4 | 14 |
| South Carolina | 5 | 31 |
| Oregon | 6 | 1 |
| Montana | 7 | 8 |
| Pennsylvania | 8 | 7 |
| South Dakota | 9 | 28 |
| Connecticut | 10 | 4 |
| Michigan | 11 | 22 |
| Massachusetts | 12 | 23 |
| Wyoming | 13 | 3 |
| Washington | 14 | 26 |
| Iowa | 15 | 2 |
| North Dakota | 16 | 11 |
| Hawaii | 17 | 35 |
| Kansas | 18 | 47 |
| District of Columbia | 19 | 30 |
| Wisconsin | 20 | 10 |
| Oklahoma | 21 | 45 |
| Utah | 22 | 13 |
| West Virginia | 23 | 9 |
| Nebraska | 24 | 29 |
| North Carolina | 25 | 42 |
| New York | 26 | 19 |
| Kentucky | 27 | 43 |
| Maryland | 28 | 34 |
| Maine | 29 | 33 |
| California | 30 | 17 |
| Minnesota | 31 | 24 |
| Delaware | 32 | 18 |
| Texas | 33 | 21 |
| Idaho | 34 | 15 |
| Florida | 35 | 50 |
| Louisiana | 36 | 48 |
| Georgia | 37 | 51 |
| Indiana | 38 | 44 |
| Alabama | 39 | 37 |
| Nevada | 40 | 32 |
| Rhode Island | 41 | 27 |
| Missouri | 42 | 16 |
| New Mexico | 43 | 39 |
| Alaska | 44 | 20 |
| Tennessee | 45 | 38 |
| New Hampshire | 46 | 49 |
| Virginia | 47 | 46 |
| Colorado | 48 | 40 |
| Illinois | 49 | 25 |
| Mississippi | 50 | 41 |
| Ohio | 51 | 36 |
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 (Since Start of COVID-19 Crisis vs. Previous Year)*** |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 1.45% | -42.90% | 531.77% |
| New Jersey | 17.96% | -34.48% | 427.73% |
| Vermont | 10.82% | 6.91% | 442.70% |
| Arizona | 19.35% | 10.70% | 562.72% |
| South Carolina | 78.21% | -50.41% | 732.60% |
| Oregon | 60.37% | 2.40% | 393.83% |
| Montana | 70.16% | -5.02% | 460.53% |
| Pennsylvania | 86.83% | -11.55% | 458.82% |
| South Dakota | 83.68% | 10.30% | 704.06% |
| Connecticut | 112.13% | -12.49% | 427.48% |
| Michigan | 111.70% | 0.04% | 675.36% |
| Massachusetts | 67.86% | 64.92% | 693.78% |
| Wyoming | 106.72% | 20.85% | 414.71% |
| Washington | 96.85% | 44.53% | 699.62% |
| Iowa | 150.44% | 18.99% | 406.24% |
| North Dakota | 164.12% | 7.42% | 528.72% |
| Hawaii | 138.55% | 56.33% | 781.25% |
| Kansas | 113.42% | 90.59% | 1229.18% |
| District of Columbia | 127.39% | 77.75% | 725.80% |
| Wisconsin | 179.15% | 25.28% | 484.53% |
| Oklahoma | 150.82% | 62.01% | 1094.83% |
| Utah | 151.87% | 68.91% | 535.60% |
| West Virginia | 167.25% | 65.92% | 470.15% |
| Nebraska | 177.82% | 78.98% | 710.40% |
| North Carolina | 146.11% | 119.87% | 1025.43% |
| New York | 244.63% | 7.88% | 649.51% |
| Kentucky | 106.98% | 173.22% | 1038.04% |
| Maryland | 190.87% | 86.34% | 780.76% |
| Maine | 250.92% | 25.98% | 771.25% |
| California | 159.73% | 143.66% | 611.80% |
| Minnesota | 258.39% | 48.11% | 695.41% |
| Delaware | 233.00% | 88.00% | 617.64% |
| Texas | 200.48% | 185.88% | 667.34% |
| Idaho | 293.73% | 88.94% | 563.03% |
| Florida | 183.20% | 248.64% | 1559.21% |
| Louisiana | 206.56% | 229.86% | 1300.79% |
| Georgia | 388.42% | 46.58% | 1624.81% |
| Indiana | 352.51% | 141.57% | 1041.23% |
| Alabama | 388.87% | 124.34% | 811.31% |
| Nevada | 297.42% | 273.90% | 758.84% |
| Rhode Island | 328.96% | 313.08% | 702.11% |
| Missouri | 500.44% | 138.52% | 577.82% |
| New Mexico | 393.64% | 317.65% | 895.30% |
| Alaska | 377.88% | 340.37% | 660.62% |
| Tennessee | 467.26% | 291.60% | 836.79% |
| New Hampshire | 549.06% | 248.99% | 1331.11% |
| Virginia | 583.35% | 380.14% | 1158.39% |
| Colorado | 743.90% | 568.24% | 915.46% |
| Illinois | 906.50% | 536.25% | 699.26% |
| Mississippi | 1003.32% | 690.49% | 1003.56% |
| Ohio | 1530.67% | 836.82% | 782.83% |
*Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of February 15, 2021 compared to the week of February 18, 2019.
**Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of February 15, 2021 compared to the week of January 1, 2020.
***Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of March 16, 2020 to February 15, 2021 compared to the weeks of March 18, 2019 to February 17, 2020.
Coronavirus Job Losses vs. Great Recession
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, St. Louis Federal Reserve.
Red States vs. Blue States
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: Double Weight (~66.67 Points)
Note: This metric measures the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of February 15, 2021 compared to the week of February 18, 2019. - Change in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims in Latest Week vs. Start of 2020: Full Weight (~33.33 Points)
Note: This metric measures the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of February 15, 2021 compared to the week of January 1, 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 vs. Previous Year: Full Weight (~100.00 Points)
Note: This metric measures the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of March 16, 2020 to February 15, 2021 compared to the weeks of March 18, 2019 to February 17, 2020.
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor.