Montana is among 18 states that have unemployment rates lower than before the pandemic, according to WalletHub.

Surprisingly, D.C. had unemployment claims last week that were worse than the same week last year. 

Leading the way in recovery over the past week is South Carolina, followed by Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota and West Virginia. Montana ranks sixth among the states.

Least recovered states are District of Columbia, Virginia, Michigan, Nebraska and California.

There are currently 8.4 million Americans unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in total. There were 326,000 new unemployment claims nationwide, which is a lot fewer than the 6.1 million during the peak of the pandemic (a 95% reduction).

Red states are recovering more quickly than Blue states, in general.