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Unemployment Rates By State – Coronavirus
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Workforce Management

Unemployment Rates By State – Coronavirus

Historic Unemployment Claims

As more COVID-19 regulations are passed and businesses temporarily close their doors, the U.S. is seeing historic weekly unemployment benefit claims across all 50 states. In fact, the previous two weeks have seen nearly 9 million unemployment claims. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 5.6% of the U.S. civilian labor force has applied for unemployment benefits—as of March 28—which is higher than the peak unemployment of the Great Recession at 4.8%.

Unemployment Rates By State

State  Unemployment Claims
(Ending 3/28/20) 
State Unemployment Rate* 
Alabama  80,186 4.2% 
Alaska  14,523 7.5% 
Arizona  89,064  3.1% 
Arkansas  26,944  3.1% 
California  878,727  6.5% 
Colorado  60,784  2.6%
Connecticut  33,182  6.0% 
Delaware  18,987  6.4% 
Washington D.C.  14,868  7.5% 
Florida  227,000  2.5% 
Georgia  132,386  4.6% 
Hawaii  48,861  8.9% 
Idaho  32,240  5.3% 
Illinois  178,133  4.9% 
Indiana  146,243  5.2% 
Iowa  58,453  6.5% 
Kansas  54,739  4.9%  
Kentucky  112,726  6.6% 
Louisiana  97,830 7.3% 
Maine  23,535  6.6% 
Maryland  83,536  4.0% 
Massachusetts  181,062  9.5% 
Michigan  311,086  8.2% 
Minnesota  109,896  8.9% 
Mississippi  30,946  3.1% 
Missouri  96,734  4.7% 
Montana  19,540  7.3% 
Nebraska  24,572  3.0% 
Nevada  71,419   8.2% 
New Hampshire  27,454  7.1% 
New Jersey  205,515  8.0%  
New Mexico  28,182  5.1% 
New York  366,403  7.2%
North Carolina  170,881  4.8% 
North Dakota  12,591  5.6% 
Ohio  272,129   8.4% 
Oklahoma  44,970  3.8% 
Oregon  42,502  5.1% 
Pennsylvania  405,880   8.3% 
Rhode Island  28,067  10.9% 
South Carolina  64,856  4.0% 
South Dakota  6,645  2.2% 
Tennessee  94,492   3.9% 
Texas  275,597  3.0% 
Utah  28,560  3.2% 
Vermont  14,443  8.4% 
Virginia  114,104   3.5% 
Washington  187,501  8.8% 
West Virginia  14,166 4.8% 
Wisconsin  110,724  6.8% 
Wyoming  4,675  3.4% 

*U.S. Department of Labor; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Tax Foundation calculations

What other resources are available to me?

Paycor is publishing expert advice, webinars, articles and templates for SMB leaders navigating the COVID-19 public health emergency on our Coronavirus Support Center.

Paycor is working diligently to provide SMB leaders with the information they need throughout this public health crisis. That’s why every two weeks we’ll update this article to give readers insights into unemployment numbers in their state and throughout the U.S. so they can make better business decisions.