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WalletHub: Illinois had the 8th smallest increase in unemployment last week due to coronavirus

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* From WalletHub…

Hi Rich,

With the U.S. experiencing a record number of initial unemployment claims, WalletHub today released its report on the States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to Coronavirus, along with accompanying videos.

To identify which states have experienced the largest unemployment increases, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across two key metrics. These metrics compare initial unemployment claim increases for the week of March 23, 2020 to both the same week in 2019 and the first week of 2020. Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.

Increase in Illinois Unemployment Due to Coronavirus (1=Worst, 25=Avg.):

1829.93% increase in the Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims – from 9,230 the week of March 25, 2019 to 178,133 the week of March 23, 2020. 4th lowest increase in the U.S.

1412.29% increase in the Number of Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims – from 11,779 in the first week of the year to 178,133 the week of March 23, 2020. 21st lowest increase in the U.S.

Full data is here. Indiana was 3rd highest, Florida was 5th highest, Michigan was 7th highest, Ohio was 12th highest, Massachusetts was 14th highest, Pennsylvania was 28th highest, California was 33rd highest and New York was 43rd highest.

For decades, Illinois has been one of the last states to fall into recession and also one of the last to emerge.

* More on NY…

The state with the current largest number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is New York. How has New York’s unemployment rate been affected?

“New York has seen a 717% increase in initial unemployment claims from the beginning of 2020 to the 13th week,” said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. “This is better than the average increase of 2,002%.”

…Adding… Some deep thinker in comments claimed that the reason we were so low was probably because the IDES system is so jammed up. It is a real problem and DoIT is not handling things well. But I have like a kabillion links to other stories about other states’ problems. Here are just a few…

* March 31: Ohioans Still Reporting Problems In Filing For Unemployment Claims

* April 2: Florida residents run into problems filing for unemployment as nationwide claims rise

* April 1: Cuomo Apologizes for Crashing Unemployment Site; US, NY Claims Hit Shocking Records

* April 1: Thousands in Texas face delays to their unemployment relief because of busy phone lines and website outages

* April 2: State unemployment offices scramble to handle surge in jobless claims amid coronavirus fallout

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 3:35 pm

Comments

Probably because people still can’t file for benefits because the IDES process and website is a dumpster fire.

Comment by Phenomynous Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 3:55 pm
===because the IDES process and website is a dumpster fire===

That’s on DoIT.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 3:59 pm
That’s on DoIT

That is fact. You have to wonder when does the State get to the point where they dissolve DoIT, and place the IT staff back in the agencies to fix the mess DoIT/CMS created. Since there will obviously be budget cuts, cutting that layer of red tape would be a good start.

Comment by Southern Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 4:41 pm
Speculation:

Lots of white-collar workers in Chicagoland are working from home, while a lot of downstate workers are either essential or engaged in agriculture. That would explain why California and New York also had (relatively) low increases, but manufacturing-heavy Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio (and entertainment/hospitality-heavy Florida) got hit so bad.

Comment by Benjamin Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 4:50 pm
This downstate worker is still going to work in Missouri.

Comment by Collinsville Kevin Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 6:18 pm
Benjamin- that was my thought.
Mary- worst comment ever.

Comment by Proud Papa Bear Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 9:27 pm
The concept of DoIT is a good idea. Problem is the management is not responsive to agencies. They are more worried about creating ticket for revenue than taking care of things. Lots of forcing things on the agencies instead of listening to the needs/requirements.

Comment by Union thug Friday, Apr 3, 20 @ 7:52 am
Is there a new entry form used in processing unemployment for Rideshare drivers in IDES? I’m getting an error message every time I submit my filing form

Comment by Golfman Friday, Apr 3, 20 @ 8:19 am
===Indiana was 3rd highest,===
Those poor wretched souls. They can move here when we break ground to make our infrastructure improvements. I hate seeing anyone without a paycheck, especially our beloved neighbors.

Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Friday, Apr 3, 20 @ 9:06 am
===processing unemployment for Rideshare drivers in IDES===

Google it. You’re gonna have to wait for the feds to figure out how to do this.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Apr 3, 20 @ 10:20 am