In relation to the U.S. economy, new unemployment claims have increased slightly during the past month. However, they remain 96 percent below the peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most regularly referenced economic indicator for the state of employment in the United States is the unemployment rate, which means a regular review of the data provides a robust economic indicator.
Yet individual states are witnessing varying trends. The variable intra-U.S. effect is borne out in a survey conducted by the website WalletHub. The company has issued rankings for the “States Whose Unemployment Claims Are Increasing the Most”.
With the overall picture, WalletHub Analyst, Jill Gonzalez says: “The national unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent last month, the lowest level since the pre-pandemic level of 3.5 percent. This means that decreasing Covid-19 cases brought on a high number of new jobs and new workers, which are both signs that the pandemic’s hold on the economy may also be decreasing.”
She also adds: “U.S. employers added over 670,000 jobs in February, continuing the streak of strong job growth we’ve been seeing for months. Job growth, in combination with less mask and vaccine mandates nationwide, should spur even more economic recovery.”
The encouraging economic analysis is that most states have recorded unemployment claims that were lower than before the pandemic. The exceptions are New Jersey, Texas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Wyoming, Rhode Island, California, Alaska, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Utah, Ohio, Kansas, New York, Kentucky, and D.C.
There are also two other oddities: Kansas and D.C. have recorded unemployment claims last week that were worse than the same week last year.
The states that have experienced the greatest recoveries are:
1. Pennsylvania
2. Maryland
3. Arkansas
4. Alabama
5. West Virginia
6. Florida
7. Iowa
8. Illinois
9. Georgia
10. Oklahoma
In contrast, the strugglers are:
42. California
43. Hawaii
44. New Jersey
45. Michigan
46. Ohio
47. Utah
48. New York
49. Kansas
50. Kentucky
51. District of Columbia
These data suggests that looking at large economy like the U.S. simply in terms of overall headlines obscures the dynamics and variations within states, many of which have very different levels of prosperity.
