With the U.S. losing 140,000 jobs in December but the national unemployment rate holding at 6.7% compared to the nearly historic high of 14.7% at the peak during the coronavirus pandemic, 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 with the best recovery in unemployment, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on four key metrics. We looked at the change in each state’s unemployment during the latest month for which we have data (December 2020) compared to December 2019 and January 2020. We also compared not seasonally adjusted continued claims in December 2020 to December 2019. Finally, we considered each state’s overall unemployment rate.
Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.| Bounced Back Most | Bounced Back Least |
| 1. South Dakota | 42. Texas |
| 2. Iowa | 43. Illinois |
| 3. Nebraska | 44. Massachusetts |
| 4. Vermont | 45. New Mexico |
| 5. Utah | 46. Rhode Island |
| 6. Alabama | 47. New York |
| 7. Arkansas | 48. California |
| 8. Montana | 49. Nevada |
| 9. Wyoming | 50. Colorado |
| 10. Indiana | 51. Hawaii |
