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1/
NEW analysis re: 25M new unemployment claims since the COVID-19 shutdowns.
We requested weekly claims data from every state by gender, race, ethnicity, age, industry & occupation. 17 states gave us all/most of the data.
Our most consistent finding:
NEW analysis re: 25M new unemployment claims since the COVID-19 shutdowns.We requested weekly claims data from every state by gender, race, ethnicity, age, industry & occupation. 17 states gave us all/most of the data.
Our most consistent finding:
2/In 17 out of 17 states that provided gender breakdowns, womenâs share of new unemployment claims surged after schools and workplaces were closed, to highs ranging from between 53% in WY to 67% in AL.
Story by me @jessica_m_wash @FullerProject https://fullerproject.org/story/coronavirus-shutdowns-make-women-the-majority-of-unemployment-seekers-in-states-across-u-s/
Story by me @jessica_m_wash @FullerProject https://fullerproject.org/story/coronavirus-shutdowns-make-women-the-majority-of-unemployment-seekers-in-states-across-u-s/
3/For historic benchmark, we used @USDOL monthly data on unemployment recipients from 1995-2019, with the same variables. In every state, women's post-COVID share was much higher than the median (even the max!) in March for the previous 25 years.
Here's the Great Recession:
Here's the Great Recession:
4/Why does this matter? The initial claims data tells us who FILED; it doesn't tell us who was denied. We know millions of people who applied haven't received checks, especially people who applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assisance... https://www.npr.org/2020/04/15/835174390/unemployment-money-not-reaching-millions-of-people-who-applied
5/People who don't qualify for state unemployment, but may get PUA, include many self-employed, part-time and low-wage workers. Often women, people of color, single moms, immigrants.
i.e. âexactly the types of workers this pandemic is affecting the most" https://www.brookings.edu/research/unemployment-insurance-is-failing-workers-during-covid-19-heres-how-to-strengthen-it/
i.e. âexactly the types of workers this pandemic is affecting the most" https://www.brookings.edu/research/unemployment-insurance-is-failing-workers-during-covid-19-heres-how-to-strengthen-it/
6/Nebraska sent detailed job breakdowns of initial claimants. The top 15 
Hairdressers, many day care workers, for example, are often self-employed and would only qualify for PAU.
But experts said many people who should be getting approved for PAU aren't... That's concerning.
Hairdressers, many day care workers, for example, are often self-employed and would only qualify for PAU.
But experts said many people who should be getting approved for PAU aren't... That's concerning.
7/ Other findings, by AGE: "Under 25" workers experienced the most consistent upward shift in share of unemployment claims. In 12 of the 14 states that provided weekly data on age, their share of new claims was higher than the historic median by between 5 and 43 percentage points
8/Race & Ethnicity: Surprisingly, no major shifts in most states. In several states, the share of claimants who identified as black or Latino was lower, and the share who identified as white or Asian higher, than the historic median. But there are some issues with that...
9/First, not everyone who loses their job files for unemployment, one reason being, traditionally many workers wouldn't qualify. Other post-pandemic research and polls have found people of color losing work at a greater rate. For example, this poll:
https://www.langerresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/1212a1CoronavirusandtheEconomy.pdf
https://www.langerresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/1212a1CoronavirusandtheEconomy.pdf
10/The @USDOL, and therefore the states, produce their unemployment data breakdowns by only one variable at a time 
and race and ethnicity are separate. This is horrible for tracking trends by race/ethnicity. Here's WV's report to the DOL so you can see what I mean:
and race and ethnicity are separate. This is horrible for tracking trends by race/ethnicity. Here's WV's report to the DOL so you can see what I mean:
11/Most people who identify as Hispanic/Latino under ethnicity choose either "White" or "Other" for race. So it's hard to track trends for "Non-Hispanic Whites" (in Census parlance), and therefore, disparities between whites and other groups.
12/Lastly, if anyone wants more of this data, please email me, I would be happy to share. Particularly on the local level, we got a lot of extra stuff that we weren't able to use.
Here's the story again. Please take a look: https://fullerproject.org/story/coronavirus-shutdowns-make-women-the-majority-of-unemployment-seekers-in-states-across-u-s/
Here's the story again. Please take a look: https://fullerproject.org/story/coronavirus-shutdowns-make-women-the-majority-of-unemployment-seekers-in-states-across-u-s/
