The United States is making significant progress in the fight against COVID-19 with the distribution of the vaccine, and this has been reflected in the job market, as new unemployment claims decreased week-over-week on June 21.

To identify which states’ workforces are experiencing the quickest recovery from COVID-19, personal finance website WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on changes in unemployment claims for several key benchmark weeks.

There were 364,000 new unemployment claims nationwide, markedly fewer than the 6.1 million during the peak of the pandemic (a 94% reduction).

Twelve states had unemployment claims last week that were lower than before the pandemic: New Jersey, Vermont, Kansas, South Carolina, Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Florida, Missouri, South Dakota, and Iowa.

And while Louisiana ranked a middle-of-the-pack 37th in the most recent unemployment stats, the state, since restrictions began to be loosened about a year ago, is one of the states with the most robust recovery, ranking 14th overall in economic comeback from the "COVID economy."

The WalletHub numbers also say that the state also ranks 10th overall in the reduction of jobless claims comparing last week to the same week a year ago.

States Whose Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest (Last Week):

1) South Carolina

2) Kansas

3) Vermont

4) Arkansas

5) Michigan

States Whose Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest (Since Start of COVID Crisis):

1) South Carolina

2) New Hampshire

3) Florida

4) North Carolina

5) South Dakota

To see the complete WalletHub study, including state-by-state economic recovery numbers, JUST CLICK HERE!

 

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