With the U.S. gaining 199,000 jobs in December, below the previous month’s 249,000 jobs, WalletHub today released updated rankings for the States Whose Unemployment Rates Are Bouncing Back Most, along with accompanying videos and audio files, to illustrate which areas of the country have had the best recovery so far.

In order to identify the states whose unemployment rates are bouncing back most, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on five key metrics that compare unemployment rate statistics from the latest month for which data is available (December 2021) to key dates in 2019 and 2020.

Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.

Unemployment Recovery in New Jersey (1=Most Recovered, 25=Avg.):

• 69.78% Change in Unemployment (December 2021 vs December 2019)
  • 280,211 unemployed people in December 2021 vs 165,039 in December 2019;
  • 4th worst recovery in the U.S.
• 67.39% Change in Unemployment (December 2021 vs January 2020)
  • 280,211 unemployed people in December 2021 vs 167,403 in January 2020;
  • 4th worst recovery in the U.S.
• -17.03% Change in Unemployment (December 2021 vs December 2020)
  • 280,211 unemployed people in December 2021 vs 337,731 in December 2020;
  • 6th worst recovery in the U.S.
• -6.07% Change in Not Seasonally Adjusted Continued Claims (December 2021 vs December 2019)
  • 83,787 continued claims in December 2021 vs 89,206 in December 2019;
  • 19th worst recovery in the U.S.
• 6.3% Unemployment Rate (December 2021)
  • 3rd highest unemployment rate in the U.S.

To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/states-unemployment-rates/74907