New York and California were ranked among some of the least hard-working states in the country, according to a recent study examining America’s hardest-working states.
New York received a 48 ranking – with one being the highest ranking and 50 being the lowest – while California received a 39 ranking, according to the study conducted by WalletHub.
Meanwhile, Alaska snagged the top spot for hardest-working state, while North Dakota and Nebraska came in second and third place, respectively, for states that work the hardest, according to the study.
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The study examined all 50 states using two factors – "Direct Work Factors" and "Indirect Work Factors" – which included, average workweek hours, employment rate, idle youth, average commute time, average leisure time spent per day, among other factors to determine rankings.
While New York and California were ranked among the least hard-working states out of the country, New Mexico came in dead last, at 50, and West Virginia claimed the 49th spot.
The study comes after New York and California saw high unemployment rates during the coronavirus stemming from strict lockdown measures.
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Most federal unemployment programs related to the pandemic expired this week, which has some business owners in New York expecting workers to now make it back to their jobs.
"Now that my unemployment is up I’m ready to come back," Jeremy Wladis, president of The Restaurant Group, recounted to the New York Post of what one former staffer told him as the unemployment funds dried up.
"Logically, it makes sense that once unemployment benefits stop more people will apply for jobs," Stephen Starr, who owns a handful of Manhattan eateries, also told the outlet.
The expanded unemployment options in California are also ending, which is set to affect 2.2 million residents.
California has also struggled with widespread unemployment fraud amid the pandemic, with the California Employment Development Department admitting in January that it could have paid up to $31 billion to scammers, including to organized crime organizations in China and Russia.
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"There is no sugar coating the reality, California did not have sufficient security measures in place to prevent this level of fraud," Julie Su, secretary for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, said at the time.
In a handful of red states earlier this year, governors ended supplemental unemployment benefits from the federal government early, which had been giving recipients $300 per week in addition to state unemployment.
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"Normally when you’re getting unemployment, the whole idea is that’s temporary, and you need to be looking for work to be able to get off unemployment," Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in May.
"The demand is there. Businesses want to hire more people, and I think we can go in that direction very soon," he added at the time.
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