The U.S. unemployment rate is still on an upward trend, with roughly 30.3 million Americans now having lost their jobs since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, despite the fact that some states have already begun to selectively reopen businesses. Today, WalletHub released updated rankings for the States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to the Coronavirus as a follow-up to our report on the Cities with the Biggest Growth in Unemployment Due to COVID-19, along with accompanying videos.

To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims. We used this data to rank the most impacted states in both the latest week for which we have data (April 20) and overall since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (March 16). 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.

Increase in New Jersey Unemployment Due to Coronavirus (1=Worst, 25=Avg.):

• 415.44% Increase in Unemployment Claims (April 2020 vs April 2019)
  • 71,017 the week of April 20, 2020 vs 13,778 the week of April 22, 2019
  • The lowest increase in the U.S.
• 363.41% Increase in the Number of Unemployment Claims (April 2020 vs January 2020)
  • 71,017 the week of April 20, 2020 vs 15,325 the week of January 1, 2020
  • 7th lowest increase in the U.S.
• 1,639.84% Increase in Unemployment Claims Since Pandemic Started
  • 889,480 between the week of March 16, 2020 and the week of April 20, 2020 vs 54,242 between the week of March 18, 2019 and the week of April 22, 2019
  • 8th lowest increase in the U.S.

To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-biggest-increase-in-unemployment-due-to-coronavirus/72730/