With 2.1 million more unemployment claims filed this week despite all U.S. states starting to reopen, WalletHub today released updated rankings for the States Hit Most by Unemployment Claims, along with accompanying videos.

To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt the most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims during the latest week for which we have data (May 18) and overall since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (March 16). We used this data to rank the most impacted states for both periods. 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 Claims Due to Coronavirus (1=Worst, 25=Avg.):

• 319.90% Increase in Unemployment Claims (May 2020 vs May 2019)
  • 33,290 the week of May 18, 2020 vs 7,928 the week of May 20, 2019
  • 2nd lowest increase in the U.S.
• 117.23% Increase in the Number of Unemployment Claims (May 2020 vs January 2020)
  • 33,290 the week of May 18, 2020 vs 15,325 the week of January 1, 2020
  • 4th lowest increase in the U.S.
• 1,331.32% Increase in Unemployment Claims Since Pandemic Started
  • 1,124,099 between the week of March 16, 2020 and the week of May 18, 2020 vs 84,435 between the week of March 18, 2019 and the week of May 20, 2019
  • 9th 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/.