States Where Unemployment Claims Are Decreasing the Most
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% |