Texas Has 9th Worst Unemployment Recovery In U.S.: Report

AUSTIN, TX — Texas is the state with the 9th worst unemployment rate recovering in the U.S., according to a new report.

The personal finance website WalletHub crunched the numbers in assessing which states have bounced back the furthest from corrosive financial effects of the coronavirus. All told, researchers noted the U.S. lost 140,000 jobs in December alone as the national unemployment rate holds steady at 6.7 percent — compared to the nearly historic high 14.7 percent at the peak of the pandemic.

While South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Vermont and Utah has seen the biggest gains in terms of bouncing back, other states aren't faring as well. Among those off to a slower start is Texas, ranking near the top among the study's cellar dwellers in terms of unemployment recovery, according to the study.

The unemployment rate in the Lone Star State is 7.1 percent, with change in unemployment from December 2019 to December 2020 at 114.1 percent the data show. The change in unemployment during the same period was 89.1 percent, the study shows. And the not seasonally adjusted continued claims during the same period saw a change of 223 percent, researchers found.

In order to identify the states with the best recovery in unemployment, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on four key metrics. Analysts looked at the change in each state’s unemployment during the latest month for which we have data (December 2020) compared to December 2019 and January 2020. The research also compared not seasonally adjusted continued claims in December 2020 to December 2019. Finally, we considered each state’s overall unemployment rate.

Unemployment Recovery in Texas

• 114.14% Change in Unemployment (December 2020 vs December 2019)
  • 1,006,737 unemployed people in December 2020 vs 470,136 in December 2019;
  • 9th worst recovery in the U.S.
• 89.08% Change in Unemployment (December 2020 vs January 2020)
  • 1,006,737 unemployed people in December 2020 vs 532,434 in January 2020;
  • 7th worst recovery in the U.S.
• 222.96% Change in Not Seasonally Adjusted Continued Claims (December 2020 vs December 2019)
  • 431,599 continued claims in December 2020 vs 133,637 in December 2019
  • 19th worst recovery in the U.S.
• 7.1% Unemployment Rate (December 2020)
  • 16th highest unemployment rate in the U.S.

For more details, read the full WalletHub report.