By Mike Sunnucks | Rose Law Group Reporter
A new analysis shows the job market and economy still need to recoup ample numbers of the jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated shutdowns.
But some cities and towns are rebounding faster than others, according to financial research firm WalletHub.
WalletHub looked at recent unemployment rates and how they compare to employment situations at the beginning of the year and last summer.
Lexington, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky and Bismarck, North Dakota are seeing their jobs rebound the fastest, according to the analysis.
Detroit, Boston, Garden Grove, California, and New York City are bouncing back the slowest.
Gilbert comes in as the fastest rebounding
Arizona market. The East Valley town ranks 24th among the U.S. cities and towns in terms of how its job market and economy is bouncing back during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gilbert has an 8.86 adjusted unemployment rate, according to WalletHub and its analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data which takes into account jobless workers as well as those on temporary furloughs because of COVID.
Gilbert’s unemployment rate is 117 percent higher than it was June 2019 and 133 percent higher than it was in January 2020.
Chandler ranks 35th in the national rebound rankings with an 9.63 percent adjusted unemployment rate. The East Valley city’s jobless rate is up 141 percent since the beginning of the year.
Mesa ranks 37th and Scottsdale 48th on the economic rebound list, according to WalletHub.
Phoenix ranks 68th with an 11.62 percent jobless rate – 152 percent higher than the start of 2020.
Phoenix is among several Arizona cities with double-digit unemployment rate. Mesa (10.41 percent), Peoria (10.3 percent), Tempe (10.74 percent), Tucson (11.74 percent) and Glendale (11.29 percent).
Still, those rates are far lower than other cities. Detroit has a 35 percent unemployment rate. The jobless rate is 22.58 percent in New York up 469 percent since the start of the year.
Los Angeles (21.92), Boston (20.92), Chicago (20.59), and Newark (24.02) all have high unemployment rates at the economy, consumers, public health continue to navigate COVID-19.
