Washington state ranked No. 23 for quickest unemployment recovery

(The Center Square) – Washington was ranked No. 23 in the nation on WalletHub’s most recent list of states experiencing the quickest recovery as measured by unemployment claims.

To calculate its rankings, the personal finance website compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on changes in unemployment claims for several key benchmark weeks.

WalletHub noted new unemployment claims increased slightly week-over-week on June 27.

“There were 235,000 new unemployment claims nationwide, which is a lot fewer than the 6.1 million during the peak of the pandemic (a 96% reduction),” according to WalletHub’s report.

WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez provided some more detail on Washington’s run-of-the-mill ranking.

“Washington ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of unemployment claims recovery in the latest week,” she told The Center Square via email. “The main factor dragging it down is the less than 30% drop in unemployment insurance initial claims registered in the past week compared to the same week of last year. This is among the smallest decreases in the country.”

It wasn’t all bad news for Washington.

“On the upside, however, the state ranks among the top 10 for recovery since the start of the COVID-19 crisis,” she pointed out.

Washington fared better than its Pacific Northwest neighbor to the south. WalletHub ranked Oregon at No. 39.

Idaho, Washington’s neighbor to the east, bested the Evergreen State, coming in at No. 28.

The 10 most recovered states and state designated last week:

1. Kentucky

2. Pennsylvania

3. District of Columbia

4. North Dakota

5. Oklahoma

6. Vermont

7. Nebraska

8. Delaware

9. Maryland

10. New Hampshire

The 10 least recovered states last week:

51. Indiana

50. Ohio

49. Mississippi

48. Michigan

47. Colorado

46. Utah

45. Georgia

44. California

43. Massachusetts

42. Texas

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