TOMS RIVER, NJ – A report today by WalletHub says New Jersey is trailing most of America when it comes to bouncing back from the economic disaster caused by COVID-19 this spring. That is mostly in part to the extended small business shut down by Governor Phil Murphy, who unlike the other 49 states, has kept many small businesses, restaurants, gyms and movie theaters closed indefinitely. With no end in sight, employers are running tighter and leaner today than they have in the past.
New Jersey has the 5th highest unemployment rate in America.
With the U.S. gaining 1.8 million jobs in July and the national unemployment rate at 10.2% compared to the nearly historic high of 14.7% at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, WalletHub today released updated rankings for the States Whose July Unemployment Rates Are Bouncing Back Most.
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.
Idaho, Kentucky, Utah, Nebraska and Montana are bouncing back the fastest as reopening America continues. Massachusetts, New York, Hawaii, Nevada, Florida and New Jersey are at the bottom of the barrel.
“We looked at the change in each state’s unemployment during the latest month for which we have data (July 2020) compared to July 2019 and January 2020. We also compared not seasonally adjusted continued claims in July 2020 to July 2019,” WalletHub said. “Finally, we considered each state’s overall unemployment rate. Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.:
Unemployment Recovery in New Jersey (1=Most Recovered, 25=Avg.):
- 267.69% Change in Unemployment (July 2020 vs July 2019)
- 647,417 unemployed people in July 2020 vs 176,079 in July 2019;
- 4th worst recovery in the U.S.
- 223.17% Change in Unemployment (July 2020 vs January 2020)
- 647,417 unemployed people in July 2020 vs 200,336 in January 2020;
- 6th worst recovery in the U.S.
- 397.96% Change in Not Seasonally Adjusted Continued Claims (July 2020 vs July 2019)
- 485,809 continued claims in July 2020 vs 97,560 in July 2019
- The best recovery in the U.S.
- 14.0% Unemployment Rate (July 2020)
5th highest unemployment rate in the U.S