A report by WalletHub is not good. It shows that Washington state’s unemployment claims are among the highest in the nation. The state is not last, however. Those spots belong to Delaware (4.2%), California (4.5%), the District of Columbia (5.1%) and Nevada (5.4%). Washington Stete’s rate is 4.1% unemployment which is also the rate for rate Illinois and Texas. The WalletHub study also factored in each state’s overall unemployment rate.
WalletHub put out its personal finance study each year. WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez spoke about the report as it relates to Washington’s low ranking. “Washington is the state with the 6th worst unemployment rate change,” she emailed The Center Square. “Its current unemployment rate is 4.1%, higher than the 3.7% national average. When compared to May 2022, Washington registered a 6.6% increase in the number of unemployed people. However, this number was slightly smaller in May than in April 2023.”
Unemployment rate changes was pointed out in the report. Washington was at No. 46 among the states in the nanation. The study, through research, put data together to determine its rankings by looking at all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It gather information which it then compare the changes in unemployment from May – the most recent figures available – to April 2023, May 2022, May 2020 and May 2019.
“Now, the U.S. unemployment rate sits at 3.7%. We have come a long way from the nearly historic high of 14.7% in May 2020, due to a combination of vaccinations and the country fully reopening. However, inflation and the potential of a recession threaten to push the unemployment rate higher again if Federal Reserve rate increases are not able to stave them off,” said Jill Gonzalez.
To take a snapshot, these are the states with the best change in unemployment:
1. New Hampshire
2. South Dakota
3. Vermont
4. Nebraska
5. Maryland
6. Wisconsin
7. North Dakota
8. Montana
9. Alabama
10. Maine
These states are designated with the worst change in unemployment:
51. Nevada
50. District of Columbia
49. California
48. Texas
47. Delaware
46. Washington
45. New Jersey
44. Kentucky
43. Illinois
42. Georgia
“Although the report doesn’t dive into the specific reasons behind Washington’s high unemployment rate, the drop could be due to the re-emergence of seasonal jobs,” Gonzalez said speculating.
