New Jersey ranks high among states struggling with unemployment rates

New Jersey is among the states where unemployment rates have bounced back the least.

In a new analysis, “States Whose Unemployment Rates Are Bouncing Back Most,” WalletHub ranked New Jersey No. 47. The analysis ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

In the region, New York ranked 48th, while Connecticut came in at No. 43, Pennsylvania was No. 36 and Delaware was No. 35.

“New Jersey has the fifth slowest unemployment rate recovery,” Jill Gonzalez, a WalletHub analyst, told The Center Square. “This is due to the fact that compared to the pre-pandemic levels of January 2020, the number of unemployed people is still higher by over 76%.

“The state ranks low compared to November 2019 as well, with an increase of almost 81% in the number of unemployed people,” Gonzalez added. “The current unemployment rate in New Jersey is 6.6%, the fourth highest nationwide, and significantly higher than the national average of 4.2%.”

Nationally, Nebraska bounced back the most, followed by Utah and Oklahoma. Nevada ranked at the bottom of the list, edging out Hawaii and California.

Last week, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development said the Garden State had recovered about 548,500, or 76%, of the jobs lost in March and April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This article was originally posted on New Jersey ranks high among states struggling with unemployment rates