Report: Florida ranks second in the nation for unemployment recovery since pandemic

by | Aug 19, 2022



  • Florida’s unemployment rate improved by 77.8 percent, good enough for second in the nation since July 2020
  • A report byt WalletHub, a personal finance website, examined six key metrics that compare unemployment rate statistics data from last month to dates over the past 3 years
  • Florida ranked fifth in the nation overall 

Florida was ranked the 5th-best state in the nation in terms of overall changes in unemployment, according to a new study by WalletHub. But the Sunshine State also posted the second-best improvement since July 2020, when the state’s tourism-based economy got flattened by the pandemic.

In the report, which examines data through July 2022, the personal finance website evaluated changes in unemployment rates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on six key metrics that compare unemployment rate statistics data across key dates in 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

“We have come a long way from the nearly historic high of 14.7% in April 2020, due to a combination of vaccinations and states removing restrictions,” the WalletHub report states, referring to the national unemployment rate spike caused by COVID-19 lockdowns two years ago. “However, inflation and the potential of a recession threaten to push the unemployment rate higher again if Federal Reserve rate increases are not able to stave them off.”

July numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor put the Sunshine State’s unemployment rate at a 2.7%, matching the level before the COVID-19 pandemic battered the economy. The July rate was down from 2.8 percent in June and 4.5 percent in July 2021 and came amid signs that inflation has slowed.

Compared to other states, Florida set the bar high and came in at No.5 on WalletHub’s ranking. Minnesota took the top spot on the list, boasting a 1.8% unemployment race in July 2022. The only other states to beat out Florida were New Hampshire at No.2 (2.0%), Vermont at No. 3 (2.1%), and Missouri at No. 4 (2.5%).

The places experiencing the worst unemployment rate change included New York at No. 47 (4.4%), Illinois at No. 48 (4.4%), Kentucky at No. 49 (3.7%), Delaware at No. 49 (4.4%), and District of Columbia at No. 50 (5.2%).

1 Comment

  1. Anonymous

    Wallethub should stick to credit ratings. They haven’t been correct about much else.

 

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