The COVID-19 pandemic has now been a strain on the U.S. for nearly a year, and new unemployment claims increased week-over-week on January 4, up 23% from the previous week. To help add some context to this statistic, WalletHub just released updated rankings for the States Whose Weekly Unemployment Claims Are Increasing the Most, along with accompanying videos and audio files.

To identify which states’ workforces are experiencing the biggest increases in unemployment claims due to COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three metrics. 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.  
 

Weekly Claims Better Than 2019:

• Kentucky
• District of Columbia

To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-unemployment-claims/72730/  



WalletHub Q&A

How could the fact that vaccine rollout is slower than expected affect unemployment?

“Since vaccine rollout is slower than expected, that could slow the reduction in the unemployment rate this year. Without having most of the population vaccinated, we can't achieve a full recovery, which means businesses will continue to not be able to hire in full force,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “If we can put more resources into achieving widespread vaccination, we can expect to make bigger strides in reducing unemployment. We should be concerned with educating people on the benefits of getting vaccinated, too, so that a higher percentage of the population will choose to receive the vaccine.”

How might the $900 billion in new COVID-19 relief signed into law by President Trump impact unemployment?

“The $900 billion in new COVID-19 relief should help reduce the number of future unemployment claims and provide a few months of stability to people who are already unemployed. The new package contains $284 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans, which are designed to help business avoid laying off employees and saved over 51 million jobs the first time around,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “Unemployed people will benefit from up to $300 per week in extra benefits through March, as well as rental assistance, SNAP assistance and stimulus checks. These will help ensure that people have temporary food security and housing security.”

Should the government step in to help industries like movie theaters avoid going bankrupt?

“The government should take actions to prevent highly-impacted industries such as movie theaters from going bankrupt. Government restrictions on capacity, though essential for safety, have caused many places to become unprofitable. We should protect businesses against bankruptcy to prevent another rise in unemployment,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “In order to receive assistance, companies and landlords in danger of bankruptcy should also be willing to share in the cost. The government can’t be solely responsible for bailing everyone out.”

How do red states and blue states compare when it comes to new unemployment claims?

“Blue states had an average rank of 24 among the states with the biggest increases in weekly unemployment claims, compared to 28 for red states,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “The lower the number of the ranking, the larger the increase in unemployment claims was.” 

How has unemployment in California – the state with the most COVID-19 cases – been impacted?

“California’s weekly unemployment claims experienced the 16^th biggest increase in the U.S. For the week of January 4, California had 181,576 new unemployment claims, compared to 160,989 last week,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst.