FILE - IDES, Illinois, unemployment, 2020, Virus Outbreak Illinois Unemployment

Information signs are displayed at IDES (Illinois Department of Employment Security) WorkNet center in Arlington Heights, Ill., Thursday, May 14, 2020.  

(The Center Square) – From mid-March of 2020 through the first full week of 2021, Illinois reported a spike in its weekly unemployment claims of 710.11 percent, compared to the same period a year earlier, according to a new analysis from the WalletHub website.

Using that metric, Illinois had the 30th highest number of jobless claims among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the WalletHub analysis found. 

Using another metric, however, the state ranked fifth highest based on a recent number of weekly unemployment claims. That metric combines comparisons of the jobless claims during the week of Jan. 4 of this year with the first week of 2019 and the first week of 2020, the study states

Nationally, 10.7 million Americans are jobless as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. During the week of Jan. 4, 965,000 new jobless claims were filed across the nation, which is 86 percent below the 6.9 million claims that were made at the height of the crisis, according to 24/7 Wall St.

Coronavirus restrictions have hurt the job markets in states around the nation, the study said. Only two jurisdictions, Washington, D.C., and Kentucky, had jobless claims during the week of Jan. 4 that were under the claims filed during the first week of 2019, the researchers reported.

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States With Biggest Spikes in Jobless Claims

StateIncreased Most Using Most Recent DataIncreased Most Since Start of COVID-19 CrisisChange in Jobless Claims (Week of Jan. 4, 2021, Compared to First Week of 2019)Change in Unemployment Claims (Week of Jan. 4, 2021, Compared to First Week of 2020)Change in Unemployment Claims (Since Start of COVID-19 Crisis vs. Same Period One Year Earlier)
Kansas152996.12%3220.01%1261.64%
New Mexico213782.51%1737.92%952.67%
Florida32646.01%1533.69%1683.09%
Louisiana44686.90%1124.49%1400.65%
Illinois530669.58%720.67%710.11%
Virginia66550.52%875.38%1239.87%
Mississippi711522.35%687.18%1032.18%
Tennessee814463.85%612.68%874.13%
Colorado912418.26%555.99%972.23%
Arizona1037304.12%507.85%605.65%
Maryland1121311.70%447.66%788.25%
Rhode Island1235356.94%289.05%642.93%
Nebraska1324314.30%369.34%761.19%
Indiana148289.08%324.27%1141.82%
New Hampshire143279.58%344.49%1423.08%
California1633239.27%394.49%671.78%
Nevada1718243.90%351.90%812.25%
Delaware1834234.30%306.51%656.15%
Texas1929194.11%387.35%710.30%
Ohio2028254.32%234.85%717.54%
Massachusetts2125249.23%228.78%753.97%
North Carolina229196.75%313.65%1125.97%
Alabama2315203.53%178.57%854.24%
Washington2422203.47%176.77%773.16%
Alaska2531131.30%325.59%699.46%
Hawaii2617196.22%179.18%840.07%
Minnesota2726202.19%139.96%751.68%
New York2832234.50%61.61%683.87%
Georgia291178.94%114.93%1793.44%
Vermont3046155.79%153.53%475.87%
Wisconsin3142182.06%75.31%522.53%
Utah3239120.66%163.11%582.41%
Oklahoma337131.10%102.51%1185.19%
Arkansas3441118.26%116.23%566.73%
Maine3516117.53%114.13%853.96%
Oregon3651113.00%88.61%422.73%
North Dakota374070.81%151.32%577.25%
District of Columbia3820-0.97%304.37%795.45%
South Dakota392365.15%127.39%771.56%
Montana404573.86%99.36%494.60%
Missouri413687.17%52.44%616.47%
Iowa425073.79%66.55%433.73%
Connecticut434983.96%31.15%444.16%
Wyoming444857.51%83.69%458.22%
Pennsylvania454471.46%49.31%495.20%
Idaho463871.69%47.07%598.71%
South Carolina471977.64%15.58%799.31%
Michigan482746.21%78.34%734.25%
West Virginia494321.89%116.43%514.65%
New Jersey504745.68%34.67%463.38%
Kentucky5110-1.10%116.79%1123.23%

Source: WalletHub.com