The employment market is showing further signs of recovery, as the latest jobs report shows that the national unemployment rate has fallen to 10.2%, which is 31% below the peak of 14.7% during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. To provide more context at the city level, WalletHub today released its report on the Cities Whose July Unemployment Rates Are Bouncing Back Most, as a follow-up to our report on the States Whose Weekly Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest, along with accompanying videos and audio files.
This report uses new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which disclosed that it erroneously didn’t count many workers on temporary layoffs as unemployed. Therefore, the real unemployment rate may be around 9 percent higher than reported, and our report includes both the official rate and an “adjusted” rate based on this error.
Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.
| Most Recovered Cities | |
| 1. Lexington-Fayette, KY | 11. Plano, TX |
| 2. Louisville, KY | 12. Madison, WI |
| 3. Lincoln, NE | 13. Sioux Falls, SD |
| 4. Amarillo, TX | 14. Lubbock, TX |
| 5. Nampa, ID | 15. Omaha, NE |
| 6. Bismarck, ND | 16. Fort Smith, AR |
| 7. Cheyenne, WY | 17. Salt Lake City, UT |
| 8. Boise, ID | 18. Overland Park, KS |
| 9. West Valley City, UT | 19. Rapid City, SD |
| 10. Billings, MT | 20. Missoula, MT |
