The U.S. reduced unemployment to record lows last year, though it has experienced fluctuations and an overall rise since then as inflation has cooled. Most recently, the job market showed no signs of improvement, with new unemployment claims stagnating week-over-week on February 26 and 2.8% higher compared to the same week last year. There are currently 6.1 million Americans unemployed in total, and it’s important to look at some key stats for the latest week to get the complete picture:
- Every state had unemployment claims last week that were higher than in the previous week except for Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Oregon, Georgia, Maryland, South Dakota, Maine, Tennessee, Wyoming, Ohio, Connecticut, Arkansas, South Carolina, Indiana, Nebraska, Kentucky, Kansas, Nevada, Utah, Wisconsin and Louisiana.
- While there was an increase in weekly claims nationally, 27 states - including Kentucky, Delaware, and Ohio - 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.
Main Findings
States with Biggest Increases in Unemployment Claims
State | Increased Most Since Last Week* | Claims per 100,000 People in Labor Force (Rank)** |
---|---|---|
New York | 1 | 1 |
New Jersey | 2 | 4 |
New Hampshire | 3 | 21 |
Alaska | 4 | 3 |
Vermont | 5 | 5 |
California | 6 | 2 |
Delaware | 7 | 50 |
Massachusetts | 8 | 10 |
Nevada | 9 | 11 |
Michigan | 10 | 18 |
Pennsylvania | 11 | 8 |
Montana | 12 | 24 |
District of Columbia | 13 | 12 |
Texas | 14 | 25 |
West Virginia | 15 | 22 |
Iowa | 16 | 23 |
Hawaii | 17 | 7 |
Washington | 18 | 13 |
Minnesota | 19 | 17 |
Illinois | 20 | 16 |
Connecticut | 21 | 6 |
Wisconsin | 22 | 9 |
Idaho | 23 | 19 |
Colorado | 24 | 28 |
New Mexico | 25 | 35 |
Arizona | 26 | 30 |
Florida | 27 | 48 |
Mississippi | 28 | 42 |
Virginia | 29 | 49 |
Oklahoma | 30 | 44 |
Alabama | 31 | 33 |
Missouri | 32 | 34 |
North Dakota | 33 | 39 |
Kansas | 34 | 36 |
Wyoming | 35 | 20 |
Tennessee | 36 | 32 |
Louisiana | 37 | 41 |
North Carolina | 38 | 45 |
South Carolina | 39 | 40 |
Maine | 40 | 26 |
Arkansas | 41 | 29 |
Maryland | 42 | 43 |
Indiana | 43 | 37 |
Ohio | 44 | 27 |
Nebraska | 45 | 47 |
Georgia | 46 | 31 |
Utah | 47 | 46 |
Oregon | 48 | 15 |
Kentucky | 49 | 38 |
South Dakota | 50 | 51 |
Rhode Island | 51 | 14 |
*Rank 1 = Biggest Increase
**Rank 1 = Most
Detailed Findings
State | Change in Unemployment Claims (Latest Week vs. Previous Week)* | Change in Unemployment Claims (Latest Week vs Same Week of 2023)** | Change in Unemployment Claims (Year to Date vs Same Period of 2023)*** | Unemployment Claims per 100,000 People in the Labor Force |
---|---|---|---|---|
New York | 94.21% | -2.30% | 2724.99% | 305 |
New Jersey | 3.30% | 4.20% | 2131.50% | 180 |
New Hampshire | 68.13% | 13.44% | -25.92% | 111 |
Alaska | 29.31% | 19.32% | -9.10% | 227 |
Vermont | 42.11% | 3.48% | 2.23% | 169 |
California | 14.92% | -6.13% | -5.32% | 246 |
Delaware | 77.69% | -59.89% | -21.28% | 42 |
Massachusetts | -42.16% | 273.10% | 9.14% | 144 |
Nevada | -2.44% | -7.99% | 505.03% | 142 |
Michigan | 19.36% | 10.91% | 8.69% | 118 |
Pennsylvania | 2.35% | 9.36% | 14.03% | 161 |
Montana | 23.73% | -23.66% | 24.69% | 102 |
District of Columbia | 11.22% | -13.69% | -35.55% | 138 |
Texas | 15.33% | 6.78% | -0.50% | 100 |
West Virginia | 9.64% | 14.71% | 13.21% | 108 |
Iowa | 9.78% | 6.19% | 44.71% | 106 |
Hawaii | 1.31% | -24.18% | 9.20% | 161 |
Washington | 5.31% | -9.46% | 12.82% | 134 |
Minnesota | 6.32% | -17.06% | 6.92% | 121 |
Illinois | 1.49% | -5.30% | -0.55% | 127 |
Connecticut | -6.03% | -19.16% | 5.51% | 162 |
Wisconsin | -1.69% | -16.53% | 2.83% | 145 |
Idaho | 1.99% | 0.54% | 11.02% | 117 |
Colorado | 10.63% | 4.22% | -12.81% | 86 |
New Mexico | 15.91% | 9.75% | -91.60% | 77 |
Arizona | 3.09% | 1.44% | 50.52% | 85 |
Florida | 12.38% | 15.87% | 0.09% | 51 |
Mississippi | 8.22% | 0.74% | 17.67% | 67 |
Virginia | 8.97% | 15.32% | 31.41% | 48 |
Oklahoma | 0.35% | 37.07% | 23.97% | 58 |
Alabama | 4.76% | -15.22% | 3.44% | 80 |
Missouri | 0.04% | 1.13% | 22.67% | 79 |
North Dakota | 4.76% | 14.86% | -97.50% | 70 |
Kansas | -2.98% | 14.83% | 9.46% | 74 |
Wyoming | -7.12% | -17.05% | 1.36% | 112 |
Tennessee | -10.36% | 20.18% | 9.67% | 83 |
Louisiana | -0.98% | -13.55% | -18.37% | 68 |
North Carolina | 1.27% | -19.79% | 34.13% | 55 |
South Carolina | -4.56% | -6.61% | 3.84% | 69 |
Maine | -11.83% | -14.36% | 3.68% | 96 |
Arkansas | -5.47% | -35.24% | -32.42% | 86 |
Maryland | -12.52% | 3.38% | 34.91% | 64 |
Indiana | -4.47% | -30.63% | -16.99% | 73 |
Ohio | -6.71% | -57.12% | -34.32% | 95 |
Nebraska | -4.21% | -13.61% | -75.39% | 52 |
Georgia | -19.21% | -15.92% | -10.64% | 85 |
Utah | -2.38% | -41.72% | -36.71% | 52 |
Oregon | -27.44% | -50.67% | 10.20% | 130 |
Kentucky | -3.49% | -67.97% | -37.46% | 71 |
South Dakota | -11.92% | -50.19% | 8.90% | 28 |
Rhode Island | -71.57% | 12.26% | 0.63% | 133 |
*Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of February 26, 2024 compared to the week of February 19, 2024.
**Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of February 26, 2024 compared to the week of February 27, 2023.
***Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of January 1, 2024 to February 26, 2024 compared to the weeks of January 2, 2023 to February 27, 2023.
(Latest Week vs Previous Week)
- Biggest Increase*
- 1. New York
- 2. Delaware
- 3. New Hampshire
- 4. Vermont
- 5. Alaska
- Smallest Increase*
- 47. Maryland
- 48. Georgia
- 49. Oregon
- 50. Massachusetts
- 51. Rhode Island
(Latest Week vs Same Week of 2023)
- Biggest Increase**
- 1. Massachusetts
- 2. Oklahoma
- 3. Tennessee
- 4. Alaska
- 5. Florida
- Smallest Increase**
- 47. South Dakota
- 48. Oregon
- 49. Ohio
- 50. Delaware
- 51. Kentucky
(Year to Date vs Same Period of 2023)
- Biggest Increase***
- 1. New York
- 2. New Jersey
- 3. Nevada
- 4. Arizona
- 5. Iowa
- Smallest Increase***
- 47. Utah
- 48. Kentucky
- 49. Nebraska
- 50. New Mexico
- 51. North Dakota
- Most Claims per 100,000 People in Labor Force
- 1. New York
- 2. California
- 3. Alaska
- 4. New Jersey
- 5. Vermont
- Least Claims per 100,000 People in Labor Force
- 47. Nebraska
- 48. Florida
- 49. Virginia
- 50. Delaware
- 51. South Dakota
*Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of February 26, 2024 compared to the week of February 19, 2024.
**Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of February 26, 2024 compared to the week of February 27, 2023.
***Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of January 1, 2024 to February 26, 2024 compared to the weeks of January 2, 2023 to February 27, 2023.
Blue States vs. Red States
Ask the Experts
To help provide some guidance for Americans who have lost their jobs or are worried about losing them, WalletHub turned to a panel of experts to provide some additional insight. Click on the experts below to view their bios and responses to the following key questions:
- Do you think the hiring dynamic is currently tilted in the employees’ favor?
- With inflation still higher than average, what is your advice for people looking to protect their finances?
- Given the current circumstances, what trends do you expect to see in terms of unemployment in the foreseeable future?
- What are your predictions for the job market as we move forward during 2024 (job gains, hiring confidence, quit rates etc.)?
Ask the Experts
Methodology
In order to identify where unemployment claims are increasing the most, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on changes in unemployment insurance initial claims for several key weeks. We also considered the number of claims per people in the labor force. The metrics are listed below with their corresponding weights. We then used those metrics to rank-order the states.
- Change in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims in Latest Week vs. Previous Week: Double Weight (~33.33 Points)
Note: This metric measures the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of February 26, 2024 compared to the week of February 19, 2024. - Change in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims in Latest Week vs. Same Week of 2023: Full Weight (~16.67 Points)
Note: This metric measures the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of February 26, 2024 compared to the week of February 27, 2023. - Change in Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims Year to Date vs. Same Period of 2023: Double Weight (~33.33 Points)
Note: This metric measures the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of January 1, 2024 to February 26, 2024 compared to the weeks of January 2, 2023 to February 27, 2023. - Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims per 100,000 People in Labor Force: Full Weight (~16.67 Points)
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor.
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