The U.S. unemployment rate is still on an upward trend, with roughly 30.3 million Americans now having lost their jobs since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, despite the fact that some states have already begun to selectively reopen businesses.
WalletHub released updated rankings for the States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to the Coronavirus as a follow-up to our report on the Cities with the Biggest Growth in Unemployment Due to COVID-19, along with accompanying videos.
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 20) and overall since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (March 16). Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A. To see the states most impacted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.
Increase in North Carolina Unemployment Due to Coronavirus (1=Worst, 25=Avg.):
- 3,330.91% Increase in Unemployment Claims (April 2020 vs April 2019)
- 97,232 the week of April 20, 2020 vs 2,834 the week of April 22, 2019
- 6th highest increase in the U.S.
- 2,671.72% Increase in the Number of Unemployment Claims (April 2020 vs January 2020)
- 97,232 the week of April 20, 2020 vs 3,508 the week of January 1, 2020
- 4th highest increase in the U.S.
- 4,332.19% Increase in Unemployment Claims Since Pandemic Started
- 747,303 between the week of March 16, 2020 and the week of April 20, 2020 vs 17,250 between the week of March 18, 2019 and the week of April 22, 2019
- 6th highest increase in the U.S.
States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to COVID-19
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 |
| Georgia | 2 | 1 |
| Kentucky | 3 | 4 |
| Louisiana | 4 | 3 |
| North Carolina | 5 | 6 |
| South Dakota | 6 | 9 |
| Virginia | 7 | 7 |
| West Virginia | 8 | 26 |
| Mississippi | 9 | 13 |
| Alabama | 10 | 17 |
| Washington | 11 | 29 |
| South Carolina | 12 | 12 |
| Texas | 13 | 36 |
| Indiana | 14 | 10 |
| Nevada | 15 | 19 |
| District of Columbia | 16 | 18 |
| Kansas | 17 | 22 |
| New Hampshire | 18 | 2 |
| Oklahoma | 19 | 28 |
| New Mexico | 20 | 27 |
| Colorado | 21 | 14 |
| Tennessee | 22 | 21 |
| North Dakota | 23 | 11 |
| Missouri | 24 | 24 |
| Hawaii | 25 | 20 |
| Minnesota | 26 | 15 |
| Ohio | 27 | 16 |
| Arizona | 28 | 43 |
| Nebraska | 29 | 23 |
| Michigan | 30 | 8 |
| Alaska | 31 | 49 |
| Maryland | 32 | 31 |
| Massachusetts | 33 | 34 |
| Oregon | 34 | 50 |
| Iowa | 35 | 33 |
| Utah | 36 | 35 |
| Arkansas | 37 | 41 |
| Rhode Island | 38 | 40 |
| Illinois | 39 | 42 |
| New York | 40 | 38 |
| California | 41 | 45 |
| Pennsylvania | 42 | 32 |
| Maine | 43 | 25 |
| Delaware | 44 | 30 |
| Wyoming | 45 | 48 |
| Wisconsin | 46 | 47 |
| Vermont | 47 | 46 |
| Idaho | 48 | 37 |
| Montana | 49 | 39 |
| Connecticut | 50 | 51 |
| New Jersey | 51 | 44 |
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 | 7229.92% | 9264.77% | 4521.47% |
| Georgia | 5841.62% | 1452.27% | 4999.06% |
| Kentucky | 5192.77% | 1655.05% | 4650.00% |
| Louisiana | 3159.46% | 3890.77% | 4862.71% |
| North Carolina | 3330.91% | 2671.72% | 4332.19% |
| South Dakota | 4176.98% | 1254.02% | 3974.44% |
| Virginia | 3435.96% | 2222.55% | 4322.42% |
| West Virginia | 3073.39% | 1791.05% | 2603.62% |
| Mississippi | 2012.14% | 2942.70% | 3156.01% |
| Alabama | 3242.19% | 1242.75% | 2991.34% |
| Washington | 2632.09% | 1354.08% | 2436.92% |
| South Carolina | 2974.99% | 772.16% | 3541.21% |
| Texas | 2003.60% | 1955.46% | 2015.72% |
| Indiana | 2508.95% | 1194.47% | 3949.32% |
| Nevada | 1879.04% | 1889.53% | 2914.57% |
| District of Columbia | 1975.83% | 1596.05% | 2984.38% |
| Kansas | 2107.24% | 1289.50% | 2746.65% |
| New Hampshire | 1562.46% | 1979.28% | 4901.75% |
| Oklahoma | 2018.26% | 1346.72% | 2451.96% |
| New Mexico | 1812.41% | 1616.15% | 2488.17% |
| Colorado | 1872.60% | 1478.24% | 3103.66% |
| Tennessee | 1979.39% | 1319.97% | 2763.90% |
| North Dakota | 2135.14% | 736.84% | 3685.88% |
| Missouri | 2086.19% | 601.14% | 2697.01% |
| Hawaii | 1675.12% | 1139.18% | 2785.60% |
| Minnesota | 1908.29% | 634.42% | 3073.55% |
| Ohio | 1503.82% | 743.57% | 3005.48% |
| Arizona | 882.43% | 1563.41% | 1653.64% |
| Nebraska | 1549.30% | 645.86% | 2739.34% |
| Michigan | 1633.36% | 515.67% | 4014.01% |
| Alaska | 1196.29% | 1040.37% | 1339.68% |
| Maryland | 1340.40% | 815.90% | 2355.88% |
| Massachusetts | 1422.70% | 647.19% | 2217.66% |
| Oregon | 1326.63% | 595.89% | 1155.29% |
| Iowa | 1343.52% | 528.59% | 2249.60% |
| Utah | 1075.94% | 679.31% | 2196.53% |
| Arkansas | 1152.43% | 550.04% | 1780.88% |
| Rhode Island | 1075.13% | 566.23% | 1928.42% |
| Illinois | 1011.42% | 589.74% | 1663.86% |
| New York | 1078.21% | 388.14% | 1986.11% |
| California | 713.76% | 793.36% | 1542.79% |
| Pennsylvania | 1010.96% | 380.92% | 2337.93% |
| Maine | 938.61% | 349.67% | 2658.71% |
| Delaware | 583.17% | 786.17% | 2382.62% |
| Wyoming | 909.09% | 335.95% | 1392.16% |
| Wisconsin | 920.45% | 288.28% | 1429.89% |
| Vermont | 649.77% | 631.03% | 1508.66% |
| Idaho | 954.59% | 179.61% | 2000.56% |
| Montana | 673.25% | 325.66% | 1941.09% |
| Connecticut | 481.13% | 320.75% | 1115.12% |
| New Jersey | 415.44% | 363.41% | 1639.84% |
*Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of April 20, 2020 compared to the week of April 22, 2019.
**Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of April 20, 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 20, 2020 compared to the weeks of March 18, 2019 to April 22, 2019.
Coronavirus Job Losses vs. Great Recession
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, St. Louis Federal Reserve.
Red vs. Blue States
