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May 15, 2020

Having a bad week: State tops U.S. unemployment ranks

IMAGE | Pixabay.com
By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

The state of Connecticut posted the biggest increase in unemployment due to the coronavirus in the nation last week, according to data released Thursday by personal finance website WalletHub.com.

On its list of “most affected states last week,” Connecticut came in at number one, followed by Florida, Louisiana, Georgia and Kentucky. 

Connecticut experienced an increase in unemployment claims of 13,792 percent, when comparing the week of May 4, 2020 with the first week of May 2019. 

When comparing January 2020 with May 2020, Connecticut saw a 3,703 percent increase, according to WalletHub. This was the second highest rate in the country, following Florida.

In February, before the state’s economy began to feel the impact of the virus, Connecticut’s unemployment rate stood at 3.8 percent, according to the state Department of Labor.

After Gov. Ned Lamont’s order in March for non-essential businesses to close, layoffs and furloughs in the state surged. 

According to the state Department of Labor’s website, it has provided over $1.27 billion in benefits since the pandemic started to impact Connecticut in March. This includes $511 million in state benefits, $755.6 million in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, and $7.7 million in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. More than 504,000 claim applications have been received for Connecticut, with 457,000 processed, the website reports.

As of May 20, the state’s first phase of reopening begins, and with it, more Connecticut residents will be able to return to work. However, the impact on unemployment numbers will only be revealed in the coming weeks.

According to WalletHub, some 36.5 million Americans have lost their jobs during the pandemic.

Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with WalletHub, predicted that unemployment rates will not return to normal until a vaccine is available against COVID-19, or when the population has “herd immunity,” when a large percentage of the population is immune.

Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.

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