States where unemployment claims are decreasing the most
To Identify where unemployment claims are decreasing the most even amid costly inflation, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on changes in unemployment claims for several key benchmark weeks. They also considered the number of claims per 100,000 people in the labor force. View full research findings here.
The U.S. has reduced unemployment from record highs during the Covid-19 pandemic to near record lows. Now, however, high inflation and the looming threat of a recession could cause unemployment claims to spike one more. For the time being, the job market is still in good shape, with new unemployment claims decreasing slightly week-over-week on October 24. There are currently 5.8 million Americans unemployment in total, though, and it’s important to look at some key stats for the latest week to get the full picture:
- 25 states had unemployment claims last week that were lower than in the previous week, Kentucky, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Florida, West Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Hawaii, Alabama, Delaware, Kansas, Nevada, Missouri, Maryland, Colorado, Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Georgia, Wyoming, Texas and Ohio.
- Surprisingly, 11 states (including South Carolina, Colorado, Kansas, Georgia and Indiana) had unemployment claims last week that were worse than the same week last year.
- Every state had unemployment claims last week that ere lower than in the same week pre-pandemic (2019) except for Connecticut, Wyoming, Alabama, Nevada, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Minnesota, Idaho, Alaska, Rhode Island, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Florida and Indiana.
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WalletHub Q&A With Jill Gonzalez
When is unemployment expected to pick up again?
“Unemployment is expected to pick up again following this larger Fed rate hike,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub Analyst. “The chances of a sharp rise in unemployment in the US over the coming year are high. The unemployment rate was expected to average 3.7% this year before rising to 4.4% and 4.8% in 2023 and 2024, respectively. That number has not been reached yet, so we should expect it fairly soon. Once unemployment does start to rise, the Fed should be able to pull back on its aggressive rate increases.”
How would a potential recession affect unemployment?
“A potential recession would negatively affect unemployment significantly. Losing a job is never good, but when you combine it with such high inflation it can really become disastrous,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub Analyst. “Even Americans with jobs right now are struggling to afford essentials like food and gas. If those numbers to climb while more people become unemployed, we might see an economy in deep recession.”
What do you make of the fact that there are more job openings than there are unemployed Americans?
“Unemployment is really no longer an issue since the country has recovered from much of the fallout of the pandemic,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub Analyst. “The next step might be looking to open up immigration to fill the surplus of jobs nationwide. Doing so would not only help businesses meet their needs, but would also drive additional economic growth.”
How do red states and blue states compare when it comes to new unemployment claims?
“With an average rank of 23 among the states with the biggest decreases in unemployment claims, red states fared better last week than blue states, which rank 29 on average,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub Analyst. “The lower the number of the ranking, the bigger the decrease in the state’s new unemployment claims was.”
How has unemployment in the Mountain states – the division with the highest inflation growth in the past 12 months – been impacted?
“Among Mountain states, Nevada’s unemployment claims have experienced the 20th biggest decrease in the U.S. For the week of October 24, Nevada had 1,943 new unemployment claims, an 8% decrease from the previous week. On the other hand, unemployment claims in Montana have experienced a 29% increase for the same period.”
