With the return of sunshine and warmer weather comes the return of good tidings in the world, particularly in the state of New Jersey where the global pandemic threatened to destroy our entire economy.

While we here at New Jersey 101.5 receive hundreds of calls about unemployment claims and the problems associated with them, there is good news. Unemployment claims are slowly decreasing all over the US and it’s happening most rapidly here in New Jersey.

According to a new study on Wallet hub, we are the state that has the quickest recovery, comparing week to week from this year to last. The study uses several metrics to uncover some interesting statistics about the state of pandemic unemployment countrywide.

But the most interesting one is this: measuring the change in unemployment claims comparing the period of time from the latest week to the start of 2020. We’re down 43.16%. That means that we have recovered more since last week than any other state in the country. Following close behind us are South Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Arizona.

The good news extends throughout the country: The study says that although there are currently 10 million Americans unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, last week, there were 712,000 new unemployment claims nationwide, compared to 6.9 million during the peak of the pandemic. That’s a 90% difference.

Ranked the slowest states to recover are Colorado, West Virginia, Mississippi, Virginia, and Ohio, according to the study.

It’s probably no surprise to a lot of you that we are recovering so quickly. As cliché as it may sound, New Jerseyans are a different breed and are not going to be defeated that easily. Despite pandemic pandemic shutdowns, draconian “emergency” measures, and unprecedented hardships, It’s that perseverance, that drive, and that “New Jersey strong” attitude that will ultimately allow us to survive when others cannot.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco. Any opinions expressed are Judi's own.

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