The new year didn’t start off well for Idaho’s unemployed, as new numbers show the state’s continued unemployment claims took a sharp uptick coming into 2020.

Data from the state’s Department of Labor showed on Thursday a 14-percent increase as of Jan. 2, jumping by 1,632 claims from the previous week to reach 13,338.

Comparatively speaking, Idaho still remains in the upper-third of the country in new unemployment claims. In a study released by the marketing company WalletHub, the weekly report finds that Idaho currently ranks 14th in the nation in a change in unemployment claims, compared to the end of 2020. But the study, marking the year-plus since COVID-19 first appeared, also broke down how the states have recovered its job loss since the pandemic began.

In that timeframe, according to the United States Department of Labor, Idaho ranks 15th, recovering approximately 85,000 of the nearly 100,000 non-farm jobs it lost since the pandemic began.

Though it’s important to note that number is expected to slide, as many of those winter jobs were seasonal. Still, Idaho Department of Labor director Jani Revier said she expects Idaho employers to generate more jobs in the coming year, thanks to an approximate 18 percent decrease in unemployment insurance tax.

“Thanks to Gov. Little approving a $200 million transfer of CARES Act funding to keep the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund whole, most Idaho businesses will see a decrease in their tax rate for 2021,” Revier said. “This move by the governor allows Idaho to keep UI tax rates low in the coming year and will help business owners as they navigate through these difficult times.”

Financial analysts have noted that economies that remained relatively open during the pandemic have fared unemployment with varying degrees of success, but that the coming year should provide a glimmer of hope for employers, as evidenced by the recent nationwide decrease in claims.

“The pandemic is still raging across the U.S.,” said Adam McCann of WalletHub, “and different states have reopened at different rates. Some states have paused their reopening plans or have even reversed course and issued new restrictions. Despite that, new unemployment claims decreased week-over-week on Jan. 1, which shows that we’re making progress toward recovery.”

By contrast, Washington’s 35th-place in the past week stretched from its nationwide 2020 ranking of 29th, as businesses remain shuttered during Gov. Jay Inslee’s extended closures of dine-in restaurant service and closure of gyms and recreational facilities, extending through at least Monday. Those numbers are expected to subside, however, after Inslee announced Tuesday his Healthy Washington plan to re-open the state.

Oregon, considered the state to have weathered unemployment the best since the pandemic began, has slipped in the past few weeks, now ranking 11th to close 2020. This comes as the state has begun paying federally-financed $300 benefit payments to its citizens.

Montana, meanwhile, has been relatively robust compared to the rest of the nation, ranking 7th fewest in unemployment claims since the pandemic began. But that number has slipped to the middle — 25th nationwide — in the past week.