After states issuing stay-at-home orders in March, mass layoffs ensued at a pace never seen in this nation. Since that time, 44 states have set record-high unemployment rates dating back to 1976 when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) started making regional calculations.
But things are starting to swing back. As states ease those lockdowns, hiring is restarting and, since May, the unemployment rate is falling in 35 states, according to data released Friday by the BLS. The rate was flat in three states, and rose slightly in 12 more.
