The economy lost 140,000 jobs in December, but the national unemployment rate remained at 6.7%, which is 54% below the peak of 14.7% during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. To provide more context at the city level, WalletHub today released its report on the Cities Whose Unemployment Rates Are Bouncing Back Most, as a follow-up to our report on the States Whose Weekly Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest, along with accompanying videos and audio files.
This report uses new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which disclosed that it erroneously didn’t count some workers on temporary layoffs as unemployed. Therefore, the real unemployment rate may be around 9% higher than reported, and our report includes both the official rate and an “adjusted” rate based on this error.
Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.
| Most Recovered Cities | |
| 1. Sioux Falls, SD | 11. Cheyenne, WY |
| 2. Rapid City, SD | 12. Huntsville, AL |
| 3. Lincoln, NE | 13. Bismarck, ND |
| 4. Overland Park, KS | 14. Billings, MT |
| 5. Omaha, NE | 15. Wichita, KS |
| 6. Juneau, AK | 16. Missoula, MT |
| 7. Fort Smith, AR | 17. Fargo, ND |
| 8. Des Moines, IA | 18. Burlington, VT |
| 9. South Burlington, VT | 19. West Valley City, UT |
| 10. Cedar Rapids, IA | 20. Anchorage, AK |
