States Experiencing the Fastest Recovery for Unemployment Claims
Tuesday, November 9th, 2021
New unemployment claims decreased week-over-week on October 25, and were 96% below the peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. To help add some context to these statistics, WalletHub just released updated rankings for theStates Whose Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest, along with accompanying videos and audio files.
Key Stats:
- 23 states had unemployment claims last week that were lower than before the pandemic: Arkansas, Virginia, North Dakota, West Virginia, South Carolina, Delaware, Montana, Vermont, Colorado, Arizona, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Washington, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Ohio, Maryland, and New Jersey.
- Surprisingly, Oregon and D.C. had unemployment claims last week that were worse than the same week last year.
| Most Recovered Last Week | Least Recovered Last Week |
| 1. Virginia | 42. Hawaii |
| 2. Arkansas | 42. Louisiana |
| 3. North Dakota | 44. Oregon |
| 4. Delaware | 45. Alabama |
| 5. Georgia | 46. California |
| 6. South Carolina | 47. Michigan |
| 7. Kansas | 48. Tennessee |
| 8. South Dakota | 49. New Mexico |
| 9. West Virginia | 50. Kentucky |
| 10. Pennsylvania | 51. District of Columbia |
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-unemployment-claims/72730
WalletHub Q&A
Do you think the additional tax refunds sent by the IRA will boost consumer spending?
“The additional tax refunds recently sent by the IRA should aid in consumer spending, right on time for Q4 holiday shopping. Due to previous overpayments, more than $510 million in refunds were sent, averaging about $1,189 per filer. That is a decent chunk of change,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “That should match or surpass most people’s holiday shopping budget. This round of additional refunds should give consumers a boost right when they need it, while Q1 tax refunds are typically used to pay down debt.”
How might the expiration of extra unemployment benefits impact unemployment?
“The expiration of extra unemployment benefits should help to reduce unemployment. Some people were making more money while unemployed than they did when they were employed, but that will no longer be the case. Therefore, those people will have more of an incentive to seek out employment to make up for the drop in income,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “Currently, the U.S. has more job openings than unemployed people, so people brought back to the workforce by the expiration of the extra benefits will have many opportunities to get hired.”
How has unemployment in California – the state with the most COVID-19 cases – recovered?
“California’s unemployment claims have experienced the 6th slowest recovery in the U.S. For the week of October 25, California had 62,266 new unemployment claims, a 94% decrease from the peak during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst.
The above Q&A is also provided in audio format and can be edited as needed.
Article courtesy of Metro Atlanta CEO, published November 9, 2021.