Today’s unemployment numbers show that roughly 26.5 million Americans have lost their jobs since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, completely wiping out the 22.7 million new jobs created since the Great Recession and adding another somber milestone to the economic toll this novel virus has taken on the U.S. Not all areas of the country have suffered equally, however, as you can see from WalletHub’s updated rankings for the States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to Coronavirus, released today, 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 13) 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.

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

• 1,197.17% Increase in Unemployment Claims (April 2020 vs April 2019)
  • 139,277 the week of April 13, 2020 vs 10,737 the week of April 15, 2019
  • 9th lowest increase in the U.S.
•  808.82% Increase in the Number of Unemployment Claims (April 2020 vs January 2020)
  • 139,277 the week of April 13, 2020 vs 15,325 the week of January 1, 2020
  • 15th lowest increase in the U.S.
• 2,020.56% Increase in Unemployment Claims Since Pandemic Started
  • 817,601 between March 16, 2020 and April 13, 2020 vs 40,464 between March 18, 2019 and April 15, 2019
  • 12th 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/