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Study: Unemployment Claims in New York Are 79.93% Lower Than Last Year

Written by Chris Boyle  |  27. April 2021

New York is having a somewhat successful recovery from new unemployment claims, with last week’s claims lower than at the start of 2020, according to WalletHub’s updated rankings for the States Whose Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest
 
Key Stats:
 
  • Weekly unemployment claims in New York increased by 241.79% compared to the same week in 2019. This was the 24th smallest increase in the U.S.
  • Weekly unemployment claims in New York decreased by 8.18% compared to the start of 2020. This was the 6th biggest decrease in the U.S.
  • Weekly unemployment claims in New York decreased by 79.93% compared to the same week last year. This was the 16th smallest decrease in the U.S.
 
Q&A
 
The COVID-19 vaccine is now available to all Americans. How should we expect that to impact unemployment?
 
“Since the COVID-19 vaccine is now available to all Americans, we should expect to see a significant decline in unemployment in the near future. There are two major reasons that unemployment will decline. The first is that the country will soon be able to proceed to a full reopening, and the second is that there will be more consumer confidence, both of which will cause a surge in business revenue,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “As businesses make more money and serve more customers, they will increase their hiring. One thing that could slow the unemployment recovery is people who do not want to return to the workforce, either due to safety concerns or because they make a similar amount of money through unemployment insurance.”
 
Do you expect companies to require getting the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition for employment?
 
“It is likely that some companies will require getting the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition for employment, with obvious exemptions for people who are medically unable to receive it,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “Companies should be able to have a COVID-19 vaccine requirement because they need to do everything in their power to keep their workers and customers safe. In addition, the more companies that require employees to get a vaccine, the faster we will be able to achieve a full reopening.”
 
How might a state’s efficiency at administering the COVID-19 vaccine affect unemployment?
 
“States that are able to more efficiently vaccinate their residents will likely see better job growth than states that are less efficient. The more a state vaccinates, the safer conditions in that state will become and the sooner businesses will be able to fully reopen and have the resources to expand hiring,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “Currently, some places are far more efficient than others. For example, New Hampshire has used 96% of its vaccine supply, while Alabama has only used 62%.”      
 
How do red states and blue states compare when it comes to recovery?
 
“With an average rank of 24 among the most recovered states, blue states had a better recovery from unemployment claims last week than red states, which rank 29 on average,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “The lower the number of the ranking, the bigger the state’s recovery was.” 

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