The U.S. reduced unemployment to record lows last year, though it has experienced a small overall rise since then. The job market is still in good shape, as new unemployment claims decreased by 2.2% week-over-week on August 26. There are currently 7.2 million Americans unemployed in total, though, and it’s important to look at some key stats for the latest week to get the complete picture:
- Every state had unemployment claims last week that were lower than in the previous week except for Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Kansas, Arkansas, Alaska, Connecticut, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Kentucky, Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota, West Virginia, Illinois, Maine, Tennessee and the District of Columbia.
- Surprisingly, 27 states – (including Massachusetts, North Dakota, and Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia had unemployment claims last week that were worse than the same week last year.
To identify where unemployment claims are decreasing 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 Where Unemployment Claims Are Decreasing the Most
State | Decreased Most Since Last Week* | Claims Per 100,000 People in the Labor Force (Rank)** |
---|---|---|
Delaware | 1 | 2 |
Ohio | 2 | 29 |
Vermont | 3 | 6 |
New Hampshire | 4 | 3 |
Virginia | 5 | 4 |
Indiana | 6 | 28 |
Utah | 7 | 15 |
North Carolina | 8 | 8 |
Mississippi | 9 | 14 |
Louisiana | 10 | 20 |
Georgia | 11 | 30 |
Missouri | 12 | 16 |
Hawaii | 13 | 40 |
Montana | 14 | 11 |
South Carolina | 15 | 17 |
Alabama | 16 | 25 |
Kentucky | 17 | 21 |
South Dakota | 18 | 1 |
Texas | 19 | 26 |
Idaho | 20 | 18 |
Maine | 21 | 9 |
Maryland | 22 | 10 |
Nebraska | 23 | 5 |
Florida | 24 | 7 |
Wyoming | 25 | 19 |
New Mexico | 26 | 13 |
Oklahoma | 27 | 12 |
Arizona | 28 | 32 |
West Virginia | 29 | 27 |
New York | 30 | 44 |
Illinois | 31 | 38 |
District of Columbia | 32 | 41 |
Tennessee | 33 | 22 |
Colorado | 34 | 24 |
North Dakota | 35 | 31 |
Arkansas | 36 | 35 |
Iowa | 37 | 34 |
Washington | 38 | 37 |
Minnesota | 39 | 33 |
Connecticut | 40 | 48 |
New Jersey | 41 | 47 |
Oregon | 42 | 46 |
Michigan | 43 | 36 |
California | 44 | 50 |
Pennsylvania | 45 | 42 |
Alaska | 46 | 45 |
Nevada | 47 | 49 |
Kansas | 48 | 23 |
Wisconsin | 49 | 39 |
Rhode Island | 50 | 43 |
Massachusetts | 51 | 51 |
*Rank 1 = Decreased Most
**Rank 1 = Fewest
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Delaware | -5.24% | -33.70% | -21.44% | 36 |
Ohio | 13.71% | -48.50% | -55.83% | 91 |
Vermont | -25.38% | -8.06% | -2.94% | 54 |
New Hampshire | -23.60% | -9.88% | 6.72% | 39 |
Virginia | -16.25% | -28.74% | 3.01% | 40 |
Indiana | -20.26% | -6.13% | -10.10% | 90 |
Utah | -3.05% | -18.22% | -17.35% | 70 |
North Carolina | -6.69% | -16.94% | -6.11% | 54 |
Mississippi | -21.40% | -9.86% | 3.24% | 70 |
Louisiana | -12.09% | 10.33% | -10.77% | 75 |
Georgia | -14.11% | 3.02% | -10.83% | 92 |
Missouri | -8.12% | -61.52% | 3.39% | 71 |
Hawaii | -3.08% | -73.12% | -20.85% | 140 |
Montana | -11.22% | -9.45% | 2.81% | 62 |
South Carolina | -13.24% | -6.19% | 2.78% | 71 |
Alabama | -8.91% | -10.51% | -2.11% | 83 |
Kentucky | 5.73% | 23.12% | -20.99% | 77 |
South Dakota | -10.17% | 21.37% | 13.27% | 32 |
Texas | -9.96% | -2.59% | 0.39% | 87 |
Idaho | -4.14% | -3.88% | 0.75% | 72 |
Maine | 2.07% | 3.68% | -1.26% | 55 |
Maryland | -17.13% | -14.53% | 21.86% | 56 |
Nebraska | -7.70% | 0.72% | 11.58% | 53 |
Florida | -7.34% | 23.28% | 9.72% | 54 |
Wyoming | 3.85% | -1.82% | 1.42% | 72 |
New Mexico | 6.72% | -5.92% | 7.94% | 69 |
Oklahoma | 10.85% | 0.99% | 4.64% | 66 |
Arizona | -3.46% | 9.95% | 7.29% | 98 |
West Virginia | 2.19% | 2.64% | 8.84% | 88 |
New York | -6.82% | 1.62% | -2.74% | 155 |
Illinois | 2.13% | 8.23% | -1.27% | 123 |
District of Columbia | 1.76% | 44.14% | -11.96% | 140 |
Tennessee | 1.99% | 8.53% | 16.45% | 77 |
Colorado | 4.50% | 10.90% | 12.33% | 81 |
North Dakota | -68.85% | 147.88% | 56.02% | 96 |
Arkansas | 20.21% | 20.40% | -7.95% | 110 |
Iowa | -6.11% | -1.79% | 25.26% | 107 |
Washington | 9.53% | 1.81% | 6.49% | 115 |
Minnesota | 2.27% | 12.35% | 14.60% | 107 |
Connecticut | 13.80% | -5.03% | -12.01% | 164 |
New Jersey | -9.05% | 2.48% | 10.60% | 163 |
Oregon | 9.98% | -10.30% | -3.00% | 162 |
Michigan | -8.22% | 30.60% | 24.55% | 112 |
California | -1.22% | 0.05% | -4.03% | 198 |
Pennsylvania | 7.95% | -1.57% | 5.91% | 143 |
Alaska | 18.31% | 4.63% | -9.20% | 161 |
Nevada | -2.17% | 22.01% | 13.92% | 169 |
Kansas | 21.95% | 25.23% | 23.32% | 79 |
Wisconsin | 25.89% | 31.43% | 7.18% | 124 |
Rhode Island | 43.31% | 21.94% | 3.25% | 145 |
Massachusetts | 37.49% | 210.10% | 59.68% | 202 |
*Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of August 26, 2024 compared to the week of August 19, 2024.
**Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of August 26, 2024 compared to the week of August 28, 2023.
***Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of January 1, 2024 to August 26, 2024 compared to the weeks of January 2, 2023 to August 28, 2023.
(Latest Week vs Previous Week)
- Biggest Decrease*
- 1. North Dakota
- 2. Vermont
- 3. New Hampshire
- 4. Mississippi
- 5. Indiana
- Smallest Decrease*
- 47. Arkansas
- 48. Kansas
- 49. Wisconsin
- 50. Massachusetts
- 51. Rhode Island
(Latest Week vs Same Week of 2023)
- Biggest Decrease**
- 1. Hawaii
- 2. Missouri
- 3. Ohio
- 4. Delaware
- 5. Virginia
- Smallest Decrease**
- 47. Michigan
- 48. Wisconsin
- 49. District of Columbia
- 50. North Dakota
- 51. Massachusetts
(Year to Date vs Same Period of 2023)
- Biggest Decrease***
- 1. Ohio
- 2. Delaware
- 3. Kentucky
- 4. Hawaii
- 5. Utah
- Smallest Decrease***
- 47. Kansas
- 48. Michigan
- 49. Iowa
- 50. North Dakota
- 51. Massachusetts
- Least Claims per 100,000 People in Labor Force
- 1. South Dakota
- 2. Delaware
- 3. New Hampshire
- 4. Virginia
- 5. Nebraska
- Most Claims per 100,000 People in Labor Force
- 47. New Jersey
- 48. Connecticut
- 49. Nevada
- 50. California
- 51. Massachusetts
*Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of August 26, 2024 compared to the week of August 19, 2024.
**Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of August 26, 2024 compared to the week of August 28, 2023.
***Refers to the change in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of January 1, 2024 to August 26, 2024 compared to the weeks of January 2, 2023 to August 28, 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 decreasing 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 100,000 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 August 26, 2024 compared to the week of August 19, 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 August 26, 2024 compared to the week of August 28, 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 August 26, 2024 compared to the weeks of January 2, 2023 to August 28, 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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