New unemployment claims decreased by 8.7% week-over-week on February 24, but were 1.8% higher compared to the same week last year. To help add some context to these statistics, WalletHub just released updated rankings for the States Where Unemployment Claims Are Decreasing the Most. 

Key Stats:

• Every state had unemployment claims last week that were lower than in the previous week except for New Hampshire, New York, Arkansas, Vermont, Kentucky, Nebraska, West Virginia, Virginia, Texas, Arizona, Maine, Washington, New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, Connecticut, Wisconsin and California. 

• Surprisingly, 33 states – including Nebraska, Kentucky, and Oregon – and the District of Columbia had unemployment claims last week that were worse than the same week last year. 

Unemployment in the U.S. has remained relatively stable over the past year, though it has experienced small fluctuations and a slight overall rise. The job market is still in good shape, as new unemployment claims decreased by 8.7% week-over-week on February 24. There are currently 6.8 million Americans unemployed in total, though, and it’s important to look at some key stats for the latest week to get the complete picture:

• Every state had unemployment claims last week that were lower than in the previous week except for New Hampshire, New York, Arkansas, Vermont, Kentucky, Nebraska, West Virginia, Virginia, Texas, Arizona, Maine, Washington, New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, Connecticut, Wisconsin and California.

• Surprisingly, 33 states – including Nebraska, Kentucky, and Oregon – and the District of Columbia had unemployment claims last week that were worse than the same week last year.

To identify where unemployment claims are decreasing the most, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on changes in unemployment claims for several key benchmark weeks. We also considered the number of claims per 100,000 people in the labor force.

For more information visit wallethub.com