As more than half of the U.S. takes the first steps toward reopening the economy after months of keeping non-essential businesses closed, Americans hope to see the massive spike in unemployment start to reverse.
Almost 36.5 million Americans have found themselves temporarily or permanently out of a job since the week of March 16, which translates to a staggering 15.7% unemployment. Though the reopening of states will provide opportunities for some people to go back to work, businesses will open in stages rather than all at once, and many may not have the resources to hire as many people as they did previously.
Virginia has the 5th highest number if unemployment claims between Jan and May 2020:
Increase in Virginia Unemployment Due to Coronavirus:
- 1,574.91% Increase in the Number of Unemployment Claims (May 2020 vs January 2020)
- 53,396 the week of May 4, 2020 vs 3,188 the week of January 1, 2020
- 5th highest increase in the U.S.
- 2,052.20% Increase in Unemployment Claims (May 2020 vs May 2019)
- 53,396 the week of May 4, 2020 vs 2,481 the week of May 6, 2019
- 9th highest increase in the U.S.
- 3,782.34% Increase in Unemployment Claims Since Pandemic Started
- 679,006 between the week of March 16, 2020 and the week of May 4, 2020 vs 17,952 betwe
- 7th highest increase in the U.S.
Not all states have experienced the same levels of unemployment due to the pandemic. 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.
They used this data to rank the most impacted states in both the latest week for which they have data (May 4) and overall since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (March 16). Read on for the results, additional commentary from a panel of experts and a full description of our methodology.
