From mid-March of 2020 through the first full week of 2021, Minnesota reported a spike in its weekly unemployment claims of 751.68%, compared to the same period a year earlier, according to a new analysis from the WalletHub website.
Using that metric, Minnesota had the 26th highest number of jobless claims among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the WalletHub analysis found.
Using another metric, however, the state ranked 27th highest based on a recent number of weekly unemployment claims. That metric combines comparisons of the jobless claims during the week of Jan. 4 of this year with the first week of 2019 and the first week of 2020, the study states.
Nationally, 10.7 million Americans are jobless as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. During the week of Jan. 4, 965,000 new jobless claims were filed across the nation, which is 86% below the 6.9 million claims that were made at the height of the crisis, according to 24/7 Wall St.
Coronavirus restrictions have hurt the job markets in states around the nation, the study said. Only two jurisdictions, Washington, D.C., and Kentucky, had jobless claims during the week of Jan. 4 that were under the claims filed during the first week of 2019, the researchers reported.
States With Biggest Spikes in Jobless Claims
| State | Increased Most Using Most Recent Data | Increased Most Since Start of COVID-19 Crisis | Change in Jobless Claims (Week of Jan. 4, 2021, Compared to First Week of 2019) | Change in Unemployment Claims (Week of Jan. 4, 2021, Compared to First Week of 2020) | Change in Unemployment Claims (Since Start of COVID-19 Crisis vs. Same Period One Year Earlier) |
| Kansas | 1 | 5 | 2996.12% | 3220.01% | 1261.64% |
| New Mexico | 2 | 13 | 782.51% | 1737.92% | 952.67% |
| Florida | 3 | 2 | 646.01% | 1533.69% | 1683.09% |
| Louisiana | 4 | 4 | 686.90% | 1124.49% | 1400.65% |
| Illinois | 5 | 30 | 669.58% | 720.67% | 710.11% |
| Virginia | 6 | 6 | 550.52% | 875.38% | 1239.87% |
| Mississippi | 7 | 11 | 522.35% | 687.18% | 1032.18% |
| Tennessee | 8 | 14 | 463.85% | 612.68% | 874.13% |
| Colorado | 9 | 12 | 418.26% | 555.99% | 972.23% |
| Arizona | 10 | 37 | 304.12% | 507.85% | 605.65% |
| Maryland | 11 | 21 | 311.70% | 447.66% | 788.25% |
| Rhode Island | 12 | 35 | 356.94% | 289.05% | 642.93% |
| Nebraska | 13 | 24 | 314.30% | 369.34% | 761.19% |
| Indiana | 14 | 8 | 289.08% | 324.27% | 1141.82% |
| New Hampshire | 14 | 3 | 279.58% | 344.49% | 1423.08% |
| California | 16 | 33 | 239.27% | 394.49% | 671.78% |
| Nevada | 17 | 18 | 243.90% | 351.90% | 812.25% |
| Delaware | 18 | 34 | 234.30% | 306.51% | 656.15% |
| Texas | 19 | 29 | 194.11% | 387.35% | 710.30% |
| Ohio | 20 | 28 | 254.32% | 234.85% | 717.54% |
| Massachusetts | 21 | 25 | 249.23% | 228.78% | 753.97% |
| North Carolina | 22 | 9 | 196.75% | 313.65% | 1125.97% |
| Alabama | 23 | 15 | 203.53% | 178.57% | 854.24% |
| Washington | 24 | 22 | 203.47% | 176.77% | 773.16% |
| Alaska | 25 | 31 | 131.30% | 325.59% | 699.46% |
| Hawaii | 26 | 17 | 196.22% | 179.18% | 840.07% |
| Minnesota | 27 | 26 | 202.19% | 139.96% | 751.68% |
| New York | 28 | 32 | 234.50% | 61.61% | 683.87% |
| Georgia | 29 | 1 | 178.94% | 114.93% | 1793.44% |
| Vermont | 30 | 46 | 155.79% | 153.53% | 475.87% |
| Wisconsin | 31 | 42 | 182.06% | 75.31% | 522.53% |
| Utah | 32 | 39 | 120.66% | 163.11% | 582.41% |
| Oklahoma | 33 | 7 | 131.10% | 102.51% | 1185.19% |
| Arkansas | 34 | 41 | 118.26% | 116.23% | 566.73% |
| Maine | 35 | 16 | 117.53% | 114.13% | 853.96% |
| Oregon | 36 | 51 | 113.00% | 88.61% | 422.73% |
| North Dakota | 37 | 40 | 70.81% | 151.32% | 577.25% |
| District of Columbia | 38 | 20 | -0.97% | 304.37% | 795.45% |
| South Dakota | 39 | 23 | 65.15% | 127.39% | 771.56% |
| Montana | 40 | 45 | 73.86% | 99.36% | 494.60% |
| Missouri | 41 | 36 | 87.17% | 52.44% | 616.47% |
| Iowa | 42 | 50 | 73.79% | 66.55% | 433.73% |
| Connecticut | 43 | 49 | 83.96% | 31.15% | 444.16% |
| Wyoming | 44 | 48 | 57.51% | 83.69% | 458.22% |
| Pennsylvania | 45 | 44 | 71.46% | 49.31% | 495.20% |
| Idaho | 46 | 38 | 71.69% | 47.07% | 598.71% |
| South Carolina | 47 | 19 | 77.64% | 15.58% | 799.31% |
| Michigan | 48 | 27 | 46.21% | 78.34% | 734.25% |
| West Virginia | 49 | 43 | 21.89% | 116.43% | 514.65% |
| New Jersey | 50 | 47 | 45.68% | 34.67% | 463.38% |
| Kentucky | 51 | 10 | -1.10% | 116.79% | 1123.23% |
Source: WalletHub.com
