A new study finds Florida has seen the biggest unemployment increase in the country over the past week, due to COVID-19.
According to WalletHub, the increase in Florida unemployment claims is staggering, rising 9,264.77% as of April 20, as compared to the week of January 1, 2020.
Jacksonville has also been hit hard. Wallethub found Jacksonville’s unemployment jumped 38.99% in March as compared to January.
Related: Local, State, And National Coronavirus Coverage
Comparing March 2019 to March 2020, unemployment in Jacksonville was up 37.89% year over year.
Nationwide, WalletHub found the country has lost over 30.3 million jobs, which equates to 18% of all adults in the workforce.
That’s worse than during the recovery decade after the Great Depression, when unemployment remained above 14%.
It's also worse than the peak of the Great Recession, when unemployment reached 10% in October 2009, according to The Balance. The nation's jobless rate is also higher than in the early 80s when unemployment peaked at 10.1% in September 1982.
The current nationwide unemployment numbers are inching closer to those last seen at the deepest point of the Great Depression, which saw peak unemployment of 24.9% in 1933, according to The Balance.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
