The employment market continued to recover in September, as the latest jobs report shows that the national unemployment rate has fallen to 7.9%, which is 46% below the peak of 14.7% during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. To provide more context at the city level, WalletHub today released its report on the Cities Whose September Unemployment Rates Are Bouncing Back Most, as a follow-up to our report on the States Whose Weekly Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest, along with accompanying videos and audio files.
This report uses new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which disclosed that it erroneously didn’t count some workers on temporary layoffs as unemployed. Therefore, the real unemployment rate may be around 5% higher than reported, and our 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.| Most Recovered Cities | |
| 1. Lincoln, NE | 11. Gilbert, AZ |
| 2. Bismarck, ND | 12. South Burlington, VT |
| 3. Sioux Falls, SD | 13. Cheyenne, WY |
| 4. Fargo, ND | 14. Juneau, AK |
| 5. Springfield, MO | 15. Missoula, MT |
| 6. Rapid City, SD | 16. Louisville, KY |
| 7. Omaha, NE | 17. Burlington, VT |
| 8. Lexington-Fayette, KY | 18. Peoria, AZ |
| 9. Madison, WI | 19. Scottsdale, AZ |
| 10. Billings, MT | 20. Chandler, AZ |
