These 10 States Have The Highest Record Unemployment Rates

TOPLINE

With the coronavirus pandemic resulting in widespread business shutdown that have wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy, unemployment rose to record highs in nearly every state last month; Here are the top ten states with the highest jobless rates, newly released federal data shows.

KEY FACTS

What to watch for

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ state breakdown was somewhat marred by data collection and misclassification issues, the agency said. Connecticut, which reportedly had the lowest jobless rate at 7.9%, released a press release saying that the federal data “severely underestimated” unemployment numbers. The state’s revised projections put its own rate closer to 17.5%, for example.

Big number: 38 million

That’s how many Americans have filed for unemployment benefits over the past nine weeks, according to the Labor Department’s weekly jobless claims reports.

Key background

The coronavirus has caused the highest rate of U.S. joblessness seen since the 1929 Great Depression. The national unemployment rate hit a post-World War II era high, soaring to 14.7% last month—up from 4.4% in March. Before the outbreak hit the U.S. in late February, the unemployment rate had been at a 50-year low of 3.5%.

Further reading

Unemployment Rates for States, Seasonally Adjusted (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Dow Loses 100 Points As Another 2.4 Million Americans File For Unemployment (Forbes)

U.S. Executives Are More Worried About The Economy Than Last Month. Here’s Why. (Forbes)

60% Of America’s CFOs Don’t Expect A Return To Normal Until At Least 2021 (Forbes)

Buy These Stay-At-Home Stocks For The Coronavirus Economy, Market Experts Say (Forbes)

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