States Where Unemployment Claims Are Increasing the Most – WalletHub Study

The U.S. reduced unemployment to record lows last year, though it has experienced fluctuations and an overall rise since then. Most recently, the job market continued to falter, with new unemployment claims increasing by 4.2% week-over-week on November 25. There are currently 7 million Americans unemployed in total, and it’s important to look at some key stats for the latest week to get the complete picture:

  • The following states had unemployment claims last week that were higher than in the previous week: North Dakota, Delaware, Wisconsin, Vermont, Kentucky, Iowa, Nebraska, Idaho, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Connecticut, Montana, Oregon and Massachusetts.
  • While there was an increase in weekly claims nationally, 49 states (including South Carolina, Georgia, and West Virginia) had unemployment claims last week that were better than the same week last year.

To identify where unemployment claims are increasing the most, 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.

Table of Contents

Main Findings

 

115151
State Rank
North Dakota 1
Massachusetts 2
Wisconsin 3
Iowa 4
Vermont 5
Michigan 6
Delaware 7
Minnesota 8
Montana 9
Pennsylvania 10
Idaho 11
New Jersey 12
Nebraska 13
Tennessee 14
Rhode Island 15
Kansas 16
Oregon 17
Washington 18
Nevada 19
South Dakota 20
New Mexico 21
Connecticut 22
Illinois 23
Colorado 24
California 25
New York 26
Alaska 27
Maryland 28
Kentucky 29
New Hampshire 30
Maine 31
Mississippi 32
Wyoming 33
West Virginia 34
Indiana 35
Utah 36
Missouri 37
North Carolina 38
Virginia 39
Florida 40
Oklahoma 41
Arizona 42
District of Columbia 43
South Carolina 44
Texas 45
Arkansas 46
Alabama 47
Louisiana 48
Hawaii 49
Georgia 50
Ohio 51

States with Biggest Increases in Unemployment Claims

State Increased Most Since Last Week*  Claims per 100,000 People in Labor Force (Rank)** 
North Dakota 1 1
Massachusetts 2 14
Wisconsin 3 9
Iowa 4 6
Vermont 5 16
Michigan 6 13
Delaware 7 29
Minnesota 8 2
Montana 9 5
Pennsylvania 10 4
Idaho 11 8
New Jersey 12 12
Nebraska 13 28
Tennessee 14 31
Rhode Island 15 7
Kansas 16 40
Oregon 17 3
Washington 18 17
Nevada 19 20
South Dakota 20 36
New Mexico 21 35
Connecticut 22 18
Illinois 23 15
Colorado 24 34
California 25 11
New York 26 19
Alaska 27 10
Maryland 28 42
Kentucky 29 22
New Hampshire 30 46
Maine 31 24
Mississippi 32 38
Wyoming 33 23
West Virginia 34 30
Indiana 35 32
Utah 36 27
Missouri 37 37
North Carolina 38 49
Virginia 39 51
Florida 40 50
Oklahoma 41 48
Arizona 42 45
District of Columbia 43 26
South Carolina 44 47
Texas 45 39
Arkansas 46 33
Alabama 47 44
Louisiana 48 43
Hawaii 49 25
Georgia 50 41
Ohio 51 21

*Rank 1 = Biggest Increase
**Rank 1 = Most

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