States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Rates Due to COVID-19
From Wallet Hub, May 22, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has eliminated nearly 39 million jobs since mid-March, turning historic unemployment lows into nearly historic highs. In total, 14.7% of Americans are unemployed as of April 2020, compared to around 25% during the Great Depression. The difference from the Great Depression, though, is that the job losses appear to be largely short-term. Most people who became unemployed during this crisis have only been temporarily laid off, and expect to be rehired by their former employers once companies reopen and start to make money again. However, it will take far more time for us to reduce the unemployment rate to pre-pandemic levels than it did for the virus to reverse over a decade of job growth.
In order to identify the states with the biggest increases in unemployment rates, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on three key metrics. They looked at the change in each state’s unemployment rate during the latest month for which we have data (April 2020) compared to April 2019 and January 2020. They also considered each state’s overall unemployment rate. This monthly report is a companion to our report on the States Hit Most by Unemployment Claims, which examines unemployment claims on a weekly basis.
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| Overall Rank |
State |
Unemployment Rate (April 2020) |
Growth in Unemployment (April 2020 vs April 2019) |
Growth in Unemployment (April 2020 vs January 2020) |
| 1 |
Nevada |
29.80% |
608.00% |
609.10% |
| 2 |
Hawaii |
23.50% |
764.90% |
666.20% |
| 3 |
Michigan |
23.80% |
507.40% |
416.80% |
(not seasonally adjusted)
* * * * *
HAWAI‘I’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AT 22.3 PERCENT IN APRIL
Jobs declined by 121,800 over-the-month
News Release from DLIR, May 21, 2020
HONOLULU — The Hawai‘i State Department of Labor & Industrial Relations (DLIR) today announced that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April was 22.3 percent. The historic increase from the revised rate of 2.4 percent in March reflects the economic impact of COVID-19 in Hawai‘i. Statewide, 487,550 were employed and 139,900 unemployed in April for a total seasonally adjusted labor force of 627,450. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 14.7 percent in April, rising from 4.4 percent in March.
PDF: For the full release click here.
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