Hawaii and Nevada saw the largest increases in unemployment, while Nebraska and South Dakota fared best.
By Tim Smart Contributing Editor • March 3, 2021, at 12:38 p.m.
Every state and the District of Columbia saw their unemployment rates rise in 2020 amid the coronavirus outbreak, with the greatest increases in Hawaii and Nevada, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday.
Both western states suffered heavily from their dependence on tourism and hospitality, with Hawaii posting a 9.1 percentage point rise and Nevada close behind with an 8.9 point jump. Another seven states saw increases of at least 5 percentage points.
In contrast, Nebraska and South Dakota saw the smallest increases of 1.2 percentage points and 1.6 points, respectively.
Photos You Should See - Feb. 2021
Feb. 25, 2021 | London | A members of the Orthodox Jewish community prays in a Synagogue in Stamford Hill at the start of Purim. Last year's Purim occurred before the first Coronavirus lockdown came into force. This year the celebration will be scaled back significantly, with Rabbis asking that, among other measures, mishloach manos – traditional gifts of food to family and friends – be left on doorsteps with people stepping back to a safe distance. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Feb. 25, 2021 | Manila, Philippines | Ronaldo Tequillo, 35, feeds his infant child inside the Katuparan-Vitas housing complex in the slum district of Tondo. Residents in the slum district of Metro Manila are calling on the government to halt the demolition of 27 four-story buildings where they live citing economic hardship during the ongoing pandemic. (Jes Aznar/Getty Images)
Feb. 24, 2021 | Beirut | Demonstrators near Beirut's Military Court demand the release of detainees held over the recent violent protests in Tripoli. (Diego Ibarra Sanchez/Getty Images)
Feb. 24, 2021 | Pedara, Italy | Flames and smoke billowing from a crater, as seen from the southern side of the Mt. Etna volcano. Europe's most active volcano has been steadily erupting since last week, belching smoke, ash, and fountains of red-hot lava. (Salvatore Allegra/AP)
Feb. 23, 2021 | Matamoros, Mexico | Honduran asylum seekers wait to register at a migrant camp at the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. immigration authorities have begun allowing some asylum seekers with active cases into the U.S. in a reversal of the Trump administration’s "Remain in Mexico" immigration policy. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Feb. 23, 2021 | Van, Turkey | Avalanche Rescue Team members walk on a snow covered terrain during a training program. (Mesut Varol/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Feb. 23, 2021 | Waynesboro, Georgia | Bianca Dorsey visits the gravesite of Ahmaud Arbery during a candlelight vigil at New Springfield Baptist Church. Arbery, a Black man, was shot and killed by two white men while jogging near Brunswick, Georgia a year ago today. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Feb. 23, 2021 | Pemba City, Mozambique | A displaced family looks on in front of a house in Paquitequete, a neighbourhood of Pemba City where thousands of people have been displaced in the last year as a result of attacks by armed forces in the communities and district of the province of Cabo Delgado. (ALFREDO ZUNIGA/AFP/Getty Images)
Feb. 23, 2021 | Rancho Palos Verdes, California | The vehicle driven by golfer Tiger Woods lies on its side after a rollover accident. Woods, the sole occupant, was removed from the wreckage by firefighters and paramedics, and suffered "multiple leg injuries," his agent said in a statement to U.S. media. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Images)
Feb. 23, 2021 | Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Lava flows from the crater of Mount Merapi. (AGUNG SUPRIYANTO/AFP/Getty Images)
Feb. 22, 2021 | Penzance, England | Starling's fly in formation. (Cameron Smith/Getty Images)
Feb. 21, 2021 | Rice Lake, Wisconsin | C.J. Wagner waves a checkered flag to a driver racing on an oval track carved onto the ice at Rice Lake. Races are held weekly on the lake during the winter months when the ice is thick enough to support the weight of the cars. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Feb. 21, 2021 | Zug, Switzerland | A group of stand up paddlers paddle on Lake Zug on a sunny day. (Alexandra Wey/AP)
Feb. 20, 2021 | Castellar de la Frontera, Spain | A white peacock is pictured at the Animal Rescue Center Zoo de Castellar. (JORGE GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images)
Feb. 19, 2021 | Phoenix | People watch the sunset from a peak at Papago Park. (Charlie Riedel/AP)
Feb. 19, 2021 | Washington, D.C. | President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a virtual event hosted by the Munich Security Conference in the East Room of the White House. (Anna Moneymaker–Pool/Getty Images)
Feb. 18, 2021 | Barcelona, Spain | A couple kiss in front of a barricade set by demonstrators during clashes with police during protests over the imprisonment of rapper Pablo Hasel. The rapper was convicted for insulting the Spanish monarchy and praising terrorist violence and is currently serving a 9-month prison sentence. (Emilio Morenatti/AP)
Feb. 18, 2021 | Lisbon, Portugal | A grave digger wearing a protective suit stands next to a hearse carrying the coffins of two COVID-19 victims at the Alto de Sao Joao cemetery. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images)
Feb. 17, 2021 | Houston, Texas | Linda McCoy throws wood on a fire for heat in her home.
Feb. 17, 2021 | Huntington Beach, California | Kids hang out on a lifeguard tower to get a better view of the sunset at Huntington State Beach. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
Feb. 17, 2021 | London | A hand-written sign reading "Help Me" is seen in a guest's window at the Radisson Blu hotel. people arriving from 33 "red list" countries, including South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, must isolate in hotels rooms for 10 days at their own expense. The policy was announced late last month in response to the emergence of new variants of the novel coronavirus that are more resistant to existing vaccines. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Feb. 17, 2021 | Jerusalem | A Palestinian woman walks as snow falls at the Dome of the Rock Mosque. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images)
Feb. 2021 | Dakar, Senegal | A man rests against a boulder during the start of the harmattan season. The harmattan season is a result of dry trade winds blowing over the Sahara Desert and carrying clouds of dust over West Africa. (JOHN WESSELS/AFP/Getty Images)
Feb. 17, 2021 | Istanbul | A man makes his way through a heavy snow storm in the Kadikoy district. (BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)
Feb. 16, 2021 | Catania, Italy | Mount Etna is seen erupting. (Salvatore Allegra/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Feb. 16, 2021 | Beijing | Food vendors sell local delicacies during the Chinese New Year holiday. Although they have been contained, recent outbreaks in the capital and across northern China have prompted the government to cancel most Lunar New Year celebrations nationwide and people have been urged to forego travel during the holiday period which typically sees hundreds of millions move between cities and villages to visit family. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
Feb. 16, 2021 | Macedo de Cavaleiros, Portugal | A large wooden figure of a reveler from the Portuguese village of Podence is set on fire. The Careto tradition is a pre-historical Celtic religious ritual still practiced in the Podence village of Portugal. (Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
Feb. 2021 | New Orleans | The Knockaz brass band performs at a backyard Mardi Gras party. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
Feb. 16, 2021 | Odessa, Texas | A man embraces his dog while resting at a shelter. Winter storm Uri has brought historic cold weather to Texas, causing traffic delays and power outages, as storms have swept across 26 states with a mix of freezing temperatures and precipitation.
Feb. 16, 2021 | La Paz, Bolivia | A woman wearing traditional clothes puts a piece of llama wool on the tail of a cow during the Andean "Martes de Challa" celebrations. (Gaston Brito Miserocchi/Getty Images)
Feb. 16, 2021 | Moscow | Students of Yevdokimov Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry rest from work in a COVID-19 field hospital in the VDNKh Exhibition Center. (Sergei Karpukhin/TASS/Getty Images)
Feb. 15, 2021 | Madrid | Pupils practice with red capes and bullfighting carts at the Bullfighting School of Las Ventas bullring. Las Ventas is the largest bullfighting ring in Spain, and home to some of the most admired bullfighters in the country. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
Feb. 14, 2021 | Barcelona | Members of the polling station staff wear personal protective equipment as they await the arrival of voters infected with the coronavirus at the Creueta del Coll sports center. These voters have permission to break confinement, as long as they carry a certificate of exemption, to cast their vote in the time slot established by the Govern de la Generalitat. (David Zorrakino/Europa Press/Getty Images)
Feb. 14, 2021 | Yangon, Myanmar | A group of youths take part in an anti-coup themed hip-hop performance in front of graffiti depicting a three-fingered salute. (Hkun Lat/Getty Images)
Feb. 13, 2021 | Manila, Philippines | Flower vendors prepare their products on the eve of Valentine's day. (Jes Aznar/Getty Images)
Feb. 13, 2021 | Calipatria, California | The bottom of the Salton Sea becomes exposed as its waters recede. As the lake continues to evaporate, particularly since the Imperial Irrigation District sold water which helped sustain the lake level to coastal cities in 2003, its increasing salinity has made it unsustainable for the fish and great masses of white pelicans and other migratory birds that fed on them. As more lake bottom becomes exposed, fine particles of toxic dust are becoming a health hazard to local communities. (David McNew/Getty Images)
Feb. 12, 2021 | Lithgow, Australia | Pink Flannel flowers (Actinotus forsythii) bloom at Goochs Crater near the Gardens of Stone National Park a year after a bushfire devastated the region. Pink flannel flowers are extremely rare and only grow in scattered parts of eastern Australia, from the Blue Mountains to north-eastern Victoria. The seeds can lay dormant for years, only sprouting following a special series of events to create the right conditions for their emergence. (Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)
Feb. 12, 2021 | Bangkok | Chinese opera troupe members put on makeup before a performance at Lhong 1919 in Chinatown. (Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
Feb. 12, 2021 | Van, Turkey | Doctors and nurses from the Gevas Public Health Center vaccination team walk past a flock of sheep after vaccinating residents with the Chinese Sinovac Coronavac vaccine during a house call in the village of Daldere. Since shipments of the Chinese Sinovac Coronavac vaccine arrived in Turkey on December 30, 2020, medical teams across the country have been working house to house to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to elderly and vulnerable citizens. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Feb. 11, 2021 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | A family begins dinner on the eve of lunar new year by tossing "Yusheng" known as Prosperity Toss, while a family member virtually joins via video call. (Annice Lyn/Getty Images)
Feb. 11, 2021 | Bergheim, Germany | Steam rises from cooling towers at the Niederaussem coal-fired power plant. (Lukas Schulze/Getty Images)
Feb. 11, 2021 | Prayagraj, India | Devotees carry images of Hindu deities as they gather to take holy dips at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges and the Yamuna on "Mauni Amavasya" or new moon day, an auspicious bathing day during the annual month-long Magh Mela Hindu festival. (Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP)
Feb. 11, 2021 | Caracas, Venezuela | A member of the Venezuelan LGBT community takes part in a demonstration demanding marriage equality, in front of the National Assembly building. (FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images)
Feb. 11, 2021 | Salisbury, England | Patients wait after receiving their COVID-19 vaccines at a vaccination center at Salisbury Cathedral. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Feb. 11, 2021 | Ziguinchor, Senegal | A women looks out the window at the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance headquarters. (JOHN WESSELS/AFP/Getty Images)
Feb. 11, 2021 | Beirut | Lebanese citizens attend a memorial service for Lokman Slim. Slim was found dead in his car after being shot six times in south Lebanon a week ago. (Diego Ibarra Sanchez/Getty Images)
Feb. 11, 2021 | Altenberg, Germany | Alina Tararychenkova of Russia speeds down the track during the women's skeleton race at the Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships. (Matthias Schrader/AP)
Feb. 10, 2021 | Gelsenkirchen, Germany | People walk with their dogs in a snow covered garden maze. (Martin Meissner/AP)
Feb. 10, 2021 | Oguchi, Japan | Hospital Director, Dr. Yutaka Kobayashi, holds the hand of a 94-year-old coronavirus patient at the coronavirus ward at Sakura General Hospital. (Carl Court/Getty Images)
Feb. 10, 2021 | Jakarta, Indonesia | A woman prepares food at her small port side restaurant at a ferry terminal submerged by the high tide every morning. Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, has been sinking for years at the rate of as much as 10 inches per year due largely to the overuse of ground water. Subsidence (the compression and sinking of land), a growing problem in large coastal megacities around the world is a slow moving disaster leading not only to loss of coastal lands, but increased sensitivity to droughts. (Ed Wray/Getty Images)
Feb. 9, 2021 | Yangon, Myanmar | Protesters waving red flags make three-finger salutes while riding on the back of a pickup truck. Myanmar declared martial law in parts of the country, including its two largest cities, as massive protests continued to draw people to the streets. Police fired rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannon to disperse protesters at demonstrations across the country, and at least two people were in critical condition from the injuries sustained. (Getty Images)
Feb. 9, 2021 | Southend, England | A man walks along the snow-covered promenade. Heavy snow in Scotland and South East England over the weekend kickstarted a week of freezing temperatures across many parts of the U.K. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Feb. 9, 2021 | Tokyo | A woman prepares for a wedding photo shoot near Tokyo station. (PHILIP FONG/AFP/Getty Images)
Feb. 8, 2021 | Washington, D.C. | A man sleeps in a truck with LED screens displaying anti-trump messages as the sun sets over the National Mall. The Senate is scheduled to begin the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump on Feb. 9. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
Feb. 8, 2021 | Barcelona | Catalan Socialist Party candidate Salvador Illa looks at his phone during a photo session at the party headquarters. A former health minister, Illa hopes to become a quiet political disruptor in the country's Catalonia region where voters are hitting the polls next weekend. (Emilio Morenatti/AP)
Feb. 7, 2021 | Yangon, Myanmar | A protester makes a three-finger salute as others march. Some internet services were restored in Myanmar, almost a week after a military coup in which de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi was detained and charged with an obscure import-export law violation, and a day after the military junta abruptly cut internet services and access to social media. Protests continued in the country's capital as authorities moved to make arrests amid growing a civil disobedience movement. (Getty Images)
Feb. 5, 2021 | Velingrad, Bulgaria | People walk through a field littered with garbage near homes. In late 2020, the European Commission launched a procedure against Bulgaria for breaches in air pollution, citing failure to comply with limit values. (Hristo Rusev/Getty Images)
Feb. 5, 2021 | Chia, Colombia | Students wearing COVID-19 protective gear social distance during snack time on their first day back to in-person class since March 2020 at Liceo Lunita, a private school. (Ivan Valencia/AP)
Feb. 4, 2021 | Marseille, France | Antoinette Colonna hugs another protester at the end of a demonstration. French unions called for strikes and protests around the country to demand more government aid for those struggling financially because of the pandemic, and more investment in public sector jobs. (Daniel Cole/AP)
Feb. 4, 2021 | Naypyitaw, Myanmar | Supporters of Myanmar's military wave national flags during a rally supporting the military coup earlier this week. Myanmar's new military government has blocked access to Facebook as resistance to Monday's coup surged amid calls for civil disobedience to protest the ousting of the elected civilian government and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (AP)
Feb. 3, 2021 | Zürich | The elephant cow Omysha dives under water in its enclosure at the Zoo Zürich. (Alexanda Wey/AP)
Feb. 4, 2021 | Lukodi town, Uganda | Olanyia Mohammed, 38, who managed to escape the massacre in his village by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in 2004 but lost 15 members of his family, looks at his parents names etched on the memorial for victims of the massacre. The International Criminal Court on Feb. 4, 2021, convicted a Ugandan child soldier-turned-Lord's Resistance Army commander of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Dominic Ongwen, 45, faced 70 charges over a reign of terror in the early 2000s by the LRA, whose fugitive chief Joseph Kony waged a bloody campaign to set up a state based on the Bible's Ten Commandments. (SUMY SADURNI/AFP/Getty Images)
Feb. 3, 2021 | Nidderau, Germany | A train passes a railroad crossing that is surrounded by flooding caused by rain and melting snow. (Michael Probst/AP)
Feb. 3, 2021 | New Delhi | Security officers push back people shouting slogans during a protest held to show support to farmers who have been on a monthslong protest. Waving flags and banners representing their organizations, the protesters demanded the repeal of new agriculture reform laws which the farmers say will favor large corporate farms. (Manish Swarup/AP)
Feb. 3, 2021 | Washington, D.C. | Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a ceremony memorializing U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, as an urn with his cremated remains lies in honor on a black-draped table at the center of the Capitol Rotunda. Officer Sicknick died as a result of injuries he sustained during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He will lie in honor until Feb. 3 and then be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. (Kevin Dietsch/AP)
Feb. 2, 2021 | Johannesburg | A sealed coffin containing the remains of a COVID-19 victim is stored in a refrigerated container. (Jerome Delay/AP)
Feb. 2, 2021 | Perth, Australia | Firefighters attempt to contain a bushfire in Wooroloo, a town on the outskirts of Perth. Damage assessment teams have identified 71 homes lost to the blaze with the number expected to rise as they work through the area. Firefighters continue to work to bring the Wooroloo bushfire under control, with more than 9,464 hectares (23,386 acres) burnt in the Perth hills area. (Evan Collis/DFES/Getty Images)
Feb. 2, 2021 | Moscow | A police officer stands guard next to a building where a court will rule on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's prison sentence. The court sentenced Navalny to serve more than two years at a remote penal colony for violating parole for failing to report to authorities in person. (Denis Kaminev/AP)
Feb. 1, 2021 | New York City | Pigeons take flight during a snowstorm. (Wong Maye-E/AP)
The damage from the near-national lockdown, including closures of restaurants, schools and businesses, saw four states reporting jobless rates of 10% or more last year: Nevada, at 12.8%; Hawaii, 11.6%; California, 10.1%; and New York, 10%. Nebraska and South Dakota had the lowest jobless rates, 4.2% and 4.6%, respectively.
Overall, 22 states had unemployment rates lower than the national rate of 8.1%, while eight states had higher rates. The District of Columbia and 20 states saw unemployment rates similar to the nation as a whole.
The BLS report highlights the dramatic effect the pandemic has had on the labor market. Even though the economy overall, as measured by gross domestic product, has recovered and is expected to reach its pre-pandemic level this year, analysts say it will take much longer to bring employment levels back to where they were before the coronavirus was first declared a global health crisis nearly a year ago. The national unemployment rate was at a record low of 3.5% in February 2020 before rising to 14.8% two months later.
Even as the national rate has now dropped to 6.3%, many economists think that number understates the true nature of joblessness when people who have dropped out of the labor market or are otherwise not counted in official tallies are taken into account.
In general, states have seen rebounds from conditions that existed last spring and have performed better than some of the dire predictions made at the beginning of the pandemic. More than $3 trillion in relief has flowed from Washington and more is likely on the way as Congress enters final debate on a $1.9 trillion package that includes relief for states and localities. But many states have seen their unemployment trust funds shrivel and spending plans have been cut back.
Here are the 10 states with the highest and lowest unemployment rates for 2020:
Highest
2019 Rate
2020 Rate
Difference
Nevada
3.9
12.8
8.9
Hawaii
2.5
11.6
9.1
California
4.2
10.1
5.9
New York
3.8
10
6.2
Michigan
4.1
9.9
5.8
New Jersey
3.4
9.8
6.4
Illinois
4
9.5
5.5
Rhode Island
3.6
9.4
5.8
Pennsylvania
4.5
9.1
4.6
Massachusetts
3
8.9
5.9
Lowest
2019 Rate
2020 Rate
Difference
Nebraska
3
4.2
1.2
South Dakota
3
4.6
1.6
Utah
2.5
4.7
2.2
North Dakota
2.3
5.1
2.8
Iowa
2.8
5.3
2.5
(TIE) Idaho
2.8
5.4
2.6
(TIE) Maine
2.7
5.4
2.7
Vermont
2.3
5.6
3.3
Wyoming
3.7
5.8
2.1
(TIE) Alabama
3
5.9
2.9
(TIE) Kansas
3.2
5.9
2.7
(TIE) Montana
3.6
5.9
2.3
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