The U.S. has reduced unemployment from record highs during the COVID-19 pandemic back to historic lows. Now, however, high inflation and the looming threat of a recession could cause unemployment claims to spike once more. For the time being, the job market is still in good shape, with new unemployment claims decreased by 7.3% week-over-week on March 27. There are currently 5.9 million Americans unemployed in total, though, and it’s important to look at some key stats for the latest week to get the full picture:
Every state had unemployment claims last week that were lower than in the previous week except for Louisiana, Utah, Colorado, Alaska, Arkansas, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Illinois, Oregon and Indiana. Wyoming has recorded no change.
Every state had unemployment claims last week that were lower than in the same week pre-pandemic (2019) except for Nevada, Missouri, Arkansas, Idaho, Maine, California, New York, Illinois, Georgia, New Jersey, Mississippi, Connecticut, Texas, Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Minnesota, District of Columbia, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Ohio, Indiana and Massachusetts.
Surprisingly, 27 states – including Colorado, Indiana, and Massachusetts – had unemployment claims last week that were worse than the same week last year.
To identify where unemployment claims are decreasing the most amid costly inflation, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on changes in unemployment claims for several key benchmark weeks. We also considered the number of claims per 100,000 people in the labor force.
Main Findings
States Where Unemployment Claims Are Decreasing the Most
State
Decreased Most Since Last Week*
Claims Per 100,000 People in the Labor Force (Rank)**
Kentucky
1
14
Oklahoma
2
9
Maryland
3
6
Delaware
4
3
District of Columbia
5
40
South Dakota
6
1
New Mexico
7
13
Alabama
8
21
New Hampshire
9
4
Kansas
10
11
North Dakota
11
8
Tennessee
12
10
Missouri
13
28
Virginia
14
2
Florida
15
5
Rhode Island
16
30
Nebraska
17
7
Vermont
18
22
West Virginia
19
16
Arizona
20
20
Michigan
21
34
Iowa
22
23
Louisiana
23
17
Pennsylvania
24
37
Georgia
25
25
Mississippi
26
19
Montana
27
32
South Carolina
28
15
Texas
29
27
Wisconsin
30
43
Maine
31
31
North Carolina
32
12
Hawaii
33
45
Nevada
34
38
New York
35
41
Washington
36
35
Connecticut
37
33
Arkansas
38
26
Wyoming
39
29
Utah
40
24
Idaho
41
36
California
42
47
New Jersey
43
42
Alaska
44
48
Colorado
45
18
Minnesota
46
39
Illinois
47
44
Ohio
48
49
Oregon
49
50
Massachusetts
50
51
Indiana
51
46
Detailed Findings
State
Change in Unemployment Claims (Latest Week vs. Previous Week)*
Change in Unemployment Claims (Latest Week vs Same Week Pre-Pandemic)**
Change in Unemployment Claims (Latest Week vs Same Week of 2022)***
Unemployment Claims per 100,000 People in the Labor Force
Kentucky
-73.42%
-34.82%
-0.63%
69
Oklahoma
-16.94%
-44.26%
-64.93%
50
Maryland
-27.29%
-37.85%
-11.42%
47
Delaware
-9.95%
-53.18%
-33.22%
40
District of Columbia
-74.38%
41.42%
-43.58%
137
South Dakota
-22.73%
-20.13%
8.18%
25
New Mexico
-15.60%
-25.15%
-14.91%
65
Alabama
-22.61%
-18.76%
-18.39%
80
New Hampshire
-15.41%
-27.71%
14.65%
41
Kansas
-10.42%
-34.83%
-2.90%
64
North Dakota
-9.65%
-22.56%
-2.83%
50
Tennessee
-7.56%
-20.76%
-16.00%
