COVID-19 and State-Level Youth Unemployment Rates, August–October 2020

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, youth unemployment rates increased across states, exceeding rates seen during the Great Recession. The COVID-19 pandemic caused states to implement stay-at-home orders and forced nonessential businesses to close. Economic consequences of the pandemic varied considerably across states. According to the most recent data available for the period from August to October 2020, youth unemployment rates ranged from 3.5 percent to 20.5 percent in selected states.