States with the Biggest Increase in Unemployment Due to Coronavirus

From Wallet Hub, Apr 2, 2020

As the U.S. has embraced social distancing policies in order to minimize the spread of COVID-19, many businesses have shut their doors either voluntarily or by government order. While some businesses have dealt with the crisis by having employees work from home, that option is not available to everyone. Millions of Americans have found themselves temporarily or permanently out of a job as a result, illustrated by the record number of initial unemployment insurance claims, at over 6.6 million, for the week of March 23.

While Americans can look forward to stimulus checks in the coming weeks, those who are jobless will likely still struggle. However, not all states have experienced the same levels of unemployment due to the pandemic. In order to find out the states whose unemployment percentages are most and least affected, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across two key metrics. These metrics compare unemployment claim increases for the week of March 23 to both the same week in 2019 and the first week of 2020….

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HAWAII

15th --  Overall Rank

3812.01% -- Increase in Unemployment Claims (2020 vs. 2019)*

2577.32% -- Increase in Unemployment Claims (March vs. January 2020)**