Despite high inflation and a potential recession, new unemployment claims decreased 7.3 percent week over week on March 27.
To add context to this statistic, WalletHub updated its rankings April 6 for the states where unemployment claims are decreasing the most.
According to the rankings, every state had unemployment claims last week that were lower than in the prior week except for Louisiana, Utah, Colorado, Alaska, Arkansas, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Illinois, Oregon and Indiana. Wyoming recorded no change. Twenty-seven states — including Colorado, Indiana and Massachusetts — had unemployment claims last week that were worse than the same week in 2022.
For its analysis, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on changes in unemployment insurance initial claims for several key weeks. It also considered the number of claims per 100,000 people in the workforce.
Where unemployment claims decreased most last week:
1. Kentucky
2. Oklahoma
3. Maryland
4. Delaware
5. District of Columbia
6. South Dakota
7. New Mexico
8. Alabama
9. New Hampshire
10. Kansas
Where unemployment claims decreased least last week:
1. Indiana
2. Massachusetts
3. Oregon
4. Ohio
5. Illinois
6. Minnesota
7. Colorado
8. Alaska
9. New Jersey
10. California
Click here for more details on the WalletHub study.