Iowa became one of 10 states to record unemployment claims last week that were lower than before the pandemic, according to a report from WalletHub. Iowa ranks seventh in the country by this metric.
Unemployment claims are down 60.31% in Iowa since the start of 2020, signaling a sign of recovery for some workers.
And while there were 354,000 new claims nationally, that is down from 6.1 million new claims during the heart of the COVID-19 outbreak. On a national level, that is a 94% reduction in unemployment claims.
However, there is still recovery that needs to occur. Iowa is one of 23 states to end unemployment benefits early (as seen by the light blue on the map below).
Source: WalletHub
Looking ahead, the FDA’s approval of the Pifzer vaccine will result in a spike of vaccination numbers around the country, but it may cause a small increase in unemployment, says Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. Some employees could refuse to get vaccinated and will instead need to find a new place to work.
