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 continued to falter, with new unemployment claims increasing by 4.3% week-over-week on March 25. There are currently 6.5 million Americans unemployed in total, and it’s important to look at some key stats for the latest week to get the complete picture:
- The following states had unemployment claims last week that were higher than in the previous week: Maine, Washington, Florida, New York, Rhode Island, California, Hawaii, Minnesota, North Dakota, Massachusetts, Kentucky, New Jersey, Illinois, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kansas, Maryland and Iowa.
- While there was an increase in weekly claims nationally, 25 states - including Ohio, Indiana, and Georgia - and the District of Columbia 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)** |
---|---|---|
Iowa | 1 | 6 |
New Jersey | 2 | 3 |
New York | 3 | 10 |
Oregon | 4 | 1 |
Wisconsin | 5 | 5 |
Pennsylvania | 6 | 7 |
Maryland | 7 | 23 |
California | 8 | 2 |
Kansas | 9 | 30 |
Nevada | 10 | 13 |
Massachusetts | 11 | 11 |
Illinois | 12 | 9 |
Alaska | 13 | 4 |
Rhode Island | 14 | 12 |
Hawaii | 15 | 8 |
Minnesota | 16 | 15 |
Washington | 17 | 14 |
South Dakota | 18 | 50 |
North Dakota | 19 | 40 |
Arizona | 20 | 26 |
Tennessee | 21 | 33 |
Colorado | 22 | 32 |
Ohio | 23 | 20 |
Kentucky | 24 | 36 |
Virginia | 25 | 48 |
Maine | 26 | 24 |
West Virginia | 27 | 27 |
Idaho | 28 | 16 |
Connecticut | 29 | 17 |
Michigan | 30 | 19 |
District of Columbia | 31 | 18 |
Wyoming | 32 | 21 |
New Mexico | 33 | 35 |
Florida | 34 | 47 |
Alabama | 35 | 31 |
Montana | 36 | 29 |
Nebraska | 37 | 45 |
Texas | 38 | 25 |
Utah | 39 | 38 |
Oklahoma | 40 | 44 |
South Carolina | 41 | 42 |
Vermont | 42 | 37 |
Mississippi | 43 | 39 |
Delaware | 44 | 51 |
Indiana | 45 | 28 |
North Carolina | 46 | 46 |
Louisiana | 47 | 43 |
Missouri | 48 | 22 |
Georgia | 49 | 41 |
Arkansas | 50 | 34 |
New Hampshire | 51 | 49 |
*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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Iowa | 97.84% | 127.83% | 39.80% | 179 |
New Jersey | 11.39% | 20.70% | 2159.03% | 194 |
New York | 1.69% | 4.40% | 2496.82% | 146 |
Oregon | 16.82% | 1.13% | 7.43% | 229 |
Wisconsin | 26.64% | 18.68% | 1.84% | 180 |
Pennsylvania | 19.98% | 38.17% | 14.73% | 174 |
Maryland | 33.23% | 68.24% | 35.05% | 95 |
California | 6.18% | 8.68% | -4.89% | 224 |
Kansas | 32.30% | 39.46% | 8.34% | 82 |
Nevada | -9.07% | 6.12% | 584.14% | 135 |
Massachusetts | 10.10% | 33.03% | 17.00% | 138 |
Illinois | 15.02% | -4.03% | -1.92% | 148 |
Alaska | -0.59% | -2.33% | -7.74% | 190 |
Rhode Island | 3.12% | 34.58% | 1.09% | 136 |
Hawaii | 8.35% | -1.82% | 5.06% | 159 |
Minnesota | 8.59% | 12.79% | 6.81% | 121 |
Washington | 0.43% | 2.83% | 10.65% | 127 |
South Dakota | 20.74% | 23.48% | 5.88% | 34 |
North Dakota | 9.24% | 36.84% | -97.68% | 63 |
Arizona | -1.40% | 11.39% | 72.53% | 88 |
Tennessee | -4.20% | 32.11% | 12.46% | 77 |
Colorado | -2.79% | 28.84% | -7.35% | 78 |
Ohio | 21.10% | -53.96% | -45.78% | 106 |
Kentucky | 10.37% | -1.84% | -46.54% | 68 |
Virginia | -0.33% | 33.78% | 29.03% | 46 |
Maine | 0.31% | -7.68% | -1.32% | 93 |
West Virginia | -6.55% | 11.75% | 14.23% | 87 |
Idaho | -10.66% | -4.97% | 7.19% | 118 |
Connecticut | -11.84% | -0.28% | 2.37% | 114 |
Michigan | -5.95% | -11.23% | 4.78% | 106 |
District of Columbia | -7.63% | -9.45% | -46.30% | 113 |
Wyoming | -7.86% | -6.09% | 1.45% | 100 |
New Mexico | -3.32% | 12.22% | -91.32% | 72 |
Florida | 0.44% | 3.55% | 1.70% | 48 |
Alabama | -7.39% | -5.85% | 0.14% | 78 |
Montana | -5.35% | -26.46% | 16.47% | 83 |
Nebraska | -6.53% | 7.93% | -76.62% | 53 |
Texas | -19.23% | -4.83% | 0.94% | 90 |
Utah | -5.92% | -21.33% | -29.74% | 66 |
Oklahoma | -20.80% | 8.34% | 17.50% | 55 |
South Carolina | -14.29% | -13.96% | 1.47% | 62 |
Vermont | -14.64% | -18.98% | 1.39% | 67 |
Mississippi | -13.44% | -25.60% | 7.22% | 63 |
Delaware | -2.44% | -22.71% | -21.55% | 32 |
Indiana | -11.13% | -51.39% | -19.42% | 83 |
North Carolina | -15.69% | -22.50% | 35.13% | 49 |
Louisiana | -18.39% | -25.80% | -15.44% | 60 |
Missouri | -45.42% | -4.59% | 20.44% | 96 |
Georgia | -24.80% | -28.33% | -10.51% | 62 |
Arkansas | -33.74% | -22.71% | -41.39% | 75 |
New Hampshire | -27.34% | -16.17% | -24.44% | 41 |
*Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of March 25, 2024 compared to the week of March 18, 2024.
**Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of March 25, 2024 compared to the week of March 27, 2023.
***Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of January 1, 2024 to March 25, 2024 compared to the weeks of January 2, 2023 to March 27, 2023.
(Latest Week vs Previous Week)
- Biggest Increase*
- 1. Iowa
- 2. Maryland
- 3. Kansas
- 4. Wisconsin
- 5. Ohio
- Smallest Increase*
- 47. Oklahoma
- 48. Georgia
- 49. New Hampshire
- 50. Arkansas
- 51. Missouri
(Latest Week vs Same Week of 2023)
- Biggest Increase**
- 1. Iowa
- 2. Maryland
- 3. Kansas
- 4. Pennsylvania
- 5. North Dakota
- Smallest Increase**
- 47. Louisiana
- 48. Montana
- 49. Georgia
- 50. Indiana
- 51. Ohio
(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. District of Columbia
- 48. Kentucky
- 49. Nebraska
- 50. New Mexico
- 51. North Dakota
- Most Claims per 100,000 People in Labor Force
- 1. Oregon
- 2. California
- 3. New Jersey
- 4. Alaska
- 5. Wisconsin
- Least Claims per 100,000 People in Labor Force
- 47. Florida
- 48. Virginia
- 49. New Hampshire
- 50. South Dakota
- 51. Delaware
*Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of March 25, 2024 compared to the week of March 18, 2024.
**Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of March 25, 2024 compared to the week of March 27, 2023.
***Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of January 1, 2024 to March 25, 2024 compared to the weeks of January 2, 2023 to March 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 March 25, 2024 compared to the week of March 18, 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 March 25, 2024 compared to the week of March 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 March 25, 2024 compared to the weeks of January 2, 2023 to March 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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