Study: Charleston has 14th Biggest Increase in Unemployment Rate Due to Coronavirus

Personal finance website WalletHub this week released a report on “Cities with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Rates Due to COVID-19” and Charleston ranked as having the 14th biggest increase.

This report uses new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which recently disclosed that it erroneously didn’t count many workers on temporary layoffs as unemployed. Therefore, the real unemployment rate may be around 33 percent higher than reported, and the Wallethub report includes both the official rate and an “adjusted” rate based on this error.

Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.

Increase in Charleston Unemployment Due to Coronavirus (1=Biggest, 90=Avg.):

• 651.78% Increase in Unemployment (April 2020 vs April 2019)
  • 11,194 unemployed people in April 2020 vs 1,489 in April 2019;
  • 7th highest increase in the U.S.
• 571.10% Increase in Unemployment (April 2020 vs January 2020)
  • 11,194 unemployed people in April 2020 vs 1,668 in January 2020;
  • 8th highest increase in the U.S.
• 14.60% Official Unemployment Rate (April 2020) (Adjusted Rate*: 19.42%)
  • 77th highest unemployment rate in the U.S.

*Adjusted for the BLS error that failed to classify workers on temporary layoffs as unemployed.

Staycationing in Charleston (1=Best; 91=Avg.):

• 27^th – Bike Rental Facilities per Capita
• 53^rd – Hiking Trails per Capita
• 21^st – Average Price of Pizza & Burger
• 47^th – Average Home Square Footage
• 26^th – Walking Trails per Capita

To read the full report, click here.

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