By Adam McCann, Financial Writer, WalletHub.com
May 7, 2020- As the U.S. economy has slowed to a crawl due to COVID-19, countless businesses have shut their doors in accordance with the resulting social distancing policies. Consequently, many businesses have furloughed or laid off employees, and 33.5 million Americans have found themselves temporarily or permanently out of a job since the week of March 16. Though more and more states are beginning to relax certain social distancing restrictions or are planning to soon, a full reopening of the economy still seems far off. Americans should expect to see incremental change, as recommended by the White House, rather than a sudden jump back to normalcy.
Increase in North Carolina Unemployment Due to Coronavirus:
2,689.46% Increase in Unemployment Claims (April 2020 vs April 2019)
84,716 the week of April 27, 2020 vs 3,037 the week of April 29, 2019
6th highest increase in the U.S.2,314.94% Increase in the Number of Unemployment Claims (April 2020 vs January 2020)
84,716 the week of April 27, 2020 vs 3,508 the week of January 1, 2020
3rd highest increase in the U.S.4,109.67% Increase in Unemployment Claims Since Pandemic Started
833,728 between the week of March 16, 2020 and the week of April 27, 2020 vs 20,287 between the week of March 18, 2019 and the week of April 29, 2019
6th highest increase in the U.S.
While Americans have started to receive their government stimulus payments, those who are jobless will likely still struggle. However, not all states have experienced the same levels of unemployment due to the pandemic. To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims. We used this data to rank the most impacted states in both the latest week for which we have data (April 27) and overall since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (March 16). Read on for the results, additional commentary from a panel of experts and a full description of our methodology.
Methodology
In order to identify the states that have had the biggest increases in unemployment due to COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases 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 following two metrics:
- Increase in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims in 2020 vs. 2019
Note: Note: This metric measures the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of April 27, 2020 compared to the week of April 29, 2019. - Increase in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims Since the Start of 2020
Note: This metric measures the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of April 27, 2020 compared to the week of January 1, 2020.
The second ranking is based on a single metric:
- Increase in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims Since Start of COVID-19 Crisis vs. the Same Period Last Year
Note: This metric measures the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of March 16, 2020 to April 27, 2020 compared to the weeks of March 18, 2019 to April 29, 2019.
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor.
States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to Coronavirus
| State | Most Affected Last Week | Most Affected Since Start of COVID-19 Crisis |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 1 | 5 |
| Louisiana | 2 | 4 |
| Georgia | 3 | 1 |
| Oklahoma | 4 | 21 |
| Kentucky | 5 | 3 |
| North Carolina | 6 | 6 |
| New Mexico | 7 | 26 |
| New Hampshire | 8 | 2 |
| Virginia | 9 | 7 |
| Mississippi | 10 | 13 |
| Maryland | 11 | 28 |
| Texas | 12 | 35 |
| Maine | 13 | 20 |
| District of Columbia | 14 | 16 |
| South Dakota | 15 | 9 |
| Washington | 16 | 29 |
| Indiana | 17 | 8 |
| South Carolina | 18 | 11 |
| Tennessee | 19 | 22 |
| Nevada | 20 | 19 |
| Colorado | 21 | 15 |
| Minnesota | 22 | 14 |
| Arizona | 23 | 43 |
| Hawaii | 24 | 23 |
| West Virginia | 25 | 27 |
| North Dakota | 26 | 12 |
| Missouri | 27 | 25 |
| Oregon | 28 | 50 |
| Alaska | 29 | 49 |
| Michigan | 30 | 10 |
| Delaware | 31 | 31 |
| Connecticut | 32 | 51 |
| Rhode Island | 33 | 37 |
| Massachusetts | 34 | 32 |
| Kansas | 35 | 30 |
| Nebraska | 36 | 24 |
| California | 37 | 46 |
| New Jersey | 38 | 42 |
| Alabama | 39 | 17 |
| Ohio | 40 | 18 |
| Utah | 41 | 34 |
| Vermont | 42 | 45 |
| Iowa | 43 | 36 |
| Illinois | 44 | 44 |
| Arkansas | 45 | 40 |
| Wisconsin | 46 | 47 |
| Pennsylvania | 47 | 33 |
| New York | 48 | 41 |
| Idaho | 49 | 38 |
| Wyoming | 50 | 48 |
| Montana | 51 | 39 |
Rank 1 = Most Affected.
Detailed Findings
| State | Increase in Unemployment Claims (2020 vs 2019)* | Increase in Unemployment Claims (April vs January 2020)** | Increase in Unemployment Claims (April vs Start of COVID-19 Crisis)*** |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 2665.75% | 3650.35% | 4257.94% |
| Louisiana | 2495.17% | 3044.57% | 4496.89% |
| Georgia | 4577.06% | 1229.92% | 4955.99% |
| Oklahoma | 3325.55% | 2218.62% | 2674.65% |
| Kentucky | 4031.06% | 1447.05% | 4584.05% |
| North Carolina | 2689.46% | 2314.94% | 4109.67% |
| New Mexico | 2324.39% | 2002.75% | 2450.39% |
| New Hampshire | 2779.32% | 1615.07% | 4693.36% |
| Virginia | 2511.62% | 1817.75% | 4053.50% |
| Mississippi | 2174.06% | 2006.11% | 2948.22% |
| Maryland | 2580.16% | 1538.93% | 2405.60% |
| Texas | 1838.96% | 1898.70% | 2004.71% |
| Maine | 2722.86% | 872.64% | 2682.78% |
| District of Columbia | 1818.16% | 1590.85% | 2845.11% |
| South Dakota | 2149.10% | 843.72% | 3705.22% |
| Washington | 1973.05% | 989.06% | 2374.11% |
| Indiana | 1998.61% | 887.30% | 3705.73% |
| South Carolina | 2337.28% | 525.71% | 3394.88% |
| Tennessee | 1632.54% | 1110.08% | 2631.73% |
| Nevada | 1320.94% | 1257.55% | 2688.99% |
| Colorado | 1462.16% | 1065.03% | 2886.27% |
| Minnesota | 1767.43% | 546.29% | 2901.96% |
| Arizona | 825.76% | 1270.02% | 1553.74% |
| Hawaii | 1338.57% | 782.85% | 2597.86% |
| West Virginia | 1375.14% | 730.95% | 2431.54% |
| North Dakota | 1586.69% | 460.89% | 3342.54% |
| Missouri | 1449.62% | 560.98% | 2528.19% |
| Oregon | 1384.60% | 571.76% | 1201.59% |
| Alaska | 1042.65% | 858.61% | 1299.22% |
| Michigan | 1387.00% | 422.09% | 3690.93% |
| Delaware | 1164.42% | 606.63% | 2244.31% |
| Connecticut | 1360.07% | 360.60% | 1148.07% |
| Rhode Island | 1345.87% | 361.92% | 1890.60% |
| Massachusetts | 1190.39% | 485.88% | 2111.68% |
| Kansas | 802.77% | 805.45% | 2332.54% |
| Nebraska | 1064.30% | 496.45% | 2536.97% |
| California | 728.46% | 766.19% | 1442.67% |
| New Jersey | 1061.16% | 471.22% | 1582.96% |
| Alabama | 1039.17% | 489.73% | 2773.39% |
| Ohio | 1006.31% | 467.39% | 2754.82% |
| Utah | 877.02% | 496.64% | 2037.22% |
| Vermont | 889.21% | 452.79% | 1464.07% |
| Iowa | 823.79% | 438.44% | 1989.87% |
| Illinois | 699.10% | 532.28% | 1526.78% |
| Arkansas | 741.98% | 382.76% | 1667.46% |
| Wisconsin | 798.39% | 195.64% | 1366.23% |
| Pennsylvania | 706.57% | 253.88% | 2108.14% |
| New York | 598.67% | 335.36% | 1656.50% |
| Idaho | 775.18% | 143.29% | 1870.51% |
| Wyoming | 515.81% | 206.04% | 1313.14% |
| Montana | 459.45% | 174.15% | 1753.06% |
*Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of April 27, 2020 compared to the week of April 29, 2019.
**Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of April 27, 2020 compared to the week of January 1, 2020.
***Refers to the increase in the Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims between the weeks of March 16, 2020 to April 27, 2020 compared to the weeks of March 18, 2019 to April 29, 2019.
About Author
