Will things ever get back to normal in a re-COVID-19 world? It’s hard to say.

For instance, places like the Golden State aka California are struggling to recover from new unemployment claims, with recent claims higher than at the start of 2020, according to rankings for the States Whose Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest.

Key Stats:

  • Weekly unemployment claims in California increased by 77.01% compared to the same week in 2019. This was the 23rd biggest increase in the U.S.
  • Weekly unemployment claims in California increased by 86.81% compared to the start of 2020. This was the 16th biggest increase in the U.S.
  • Weekly unemployment claims in California decreased by 71.59% compared to the same week last year. This was the 25th biggest decrease in the U.S.

Some states are proposing paying bonuses to people who go back to work. Is this a good idea?

“It is a bad idea for states to pay bonuses to people who go back to work. The government has already done its job to get the pandemic under control with shutdowns and the vaccine, and it supported people and businesses with multiple stimulus packages,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “Now that COVID-19 cases have dropped dramatically and the country has largely reopened, it’s time for the free market to function again.”

If the U.S. fails to reach “herd immunity,” what could that mean for unemployment?

“If the U.S. fails to reach ‘herd immunity,’ that wouldn’t be ideal, but it also wouldn’t prevent us from getting things back to normal. A significant portion of the population is getting vaccinated, which will still greatly reduce the transmission rate and threat of the disease. As a result, we should see a continued decline in unemployment,” Gonzalez, said. “The U.S. has already made big strides toward a full reopening. The more people who choose to get vaccinated, the smoother that reopening will be and the greater companies’ hiring capabilities will be.”

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,” Gonzalez added. “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 do red states and blue states compare when it comes to recovery?

“With an average rank of 28 among the most recovered states, blue states had a worse recovery from unemployment claims last week than red states, which rank 24 on average,” Gonzalez noted. “The lower the number of the ranking, the bigger the state’s recovery was.”

How has unemployment in California – the state with the most COVID-19 cases – recovered?

“California’s unemployment claims have experienced the 20th slowest recovery in the U.S. For the week of June 7, California had 68,595 new unemployment claims, a 94% decrease from the peak during the coronavirus pandemic,”  Gonzalez said.

To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit here.
Source: WalletHub