As a result of the sequester, which went into effect in early 2013 to help cut the U.S. budget deficit, a federal program intended to lengthen the amount of time jobless residents can receive unemployment benefits will be substantially reduced. Cutting Emergency Unemployment Compensation will mean an end to an important source of income for many out-of-work Americans.

Unemployment rates have fallen nationwide, but there are still nearly 12 million active job seekers who cannot find work. While unemployment is rarely a favorable situation, in certain parts of the country, the unemployed can expect to find a job more more easily because of a favorable job market, or at least receive good benefits. In other areas, job growth is slow, competition is high and benefits are relatively poor.

Click here to see the best states to be unemployed

Click here to see the worst states to be unemployed

Based on unemployment insurance benefits data and employment statistics, 24/7 Wall St.identified the states where residents had the best chances of finding work and also received the best benefits while they were looking for it.

One of the biggest indicators of how difficult it is to find work is the unemployment rate. A low jobless rate in a given state usually means the area’s economy is doing relatively well, competition is limited and workers have the skills necessary to qualify for available jobs. In all the best states to be unemployed, the unemployment rate was well below the national rate of 7.6% for June. In North Dakota, one of the best states to be unemployed, just 3.1% of the workforce did not have a job.

In the worst states to be unemployed, job growth was relatively slow and new opportunities to work took longer to materialize. In most of the these states, the number of nonfarm jobs grew slower than the 1.3% national rate between June 2012 and June 2013. In three of these states — Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois — the total number of jobs grew by less than 1%.

Not surprisingly, it is far better to be unemployed in a state with healthy job growth. According to Rebecca Dixon, policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, “in some of these states, people go back to work really quickly.”

However, even if employers are hiring and local economies are doing well, workers may still need time to find a job. This may mean relying on unemployment insurance benefits while they are looking. Nationally, unemployment benefits covered an average of 33% of the average weekly wages in the area. In six of the best states to be unemployed in, this figure, known as the “replacement rate,” was more than 40% of average wages, with Hawaii covering a nation-leading 53%.

Dixon pointed out that a high replacement rate is not enough on its own to make benefits available to the unemployed. “A state can have a great program, but if they make it really, really hard for people to qualify for benefits, then it’s just a great program sitting there that no one can use,” said Dixon.

Known as the “recipiency rate,” just 45% of all unemployed workers received such benefits over the 12 months going through the first quarter of 2013. In five of the better states to be unemployed, a higher percentage of jobless residents received these benefits. In some of the worst states to be unemployed in, these rates were even lower. In Louisiana and Tennessee, the two worst states to be unemployed in, just 30% of unemployed workers received these benefits.

To determine the best states to be unemployed in, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed figures published by the Department of Labor’s Office of Unemployment Insurance (OUI) and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The recipiency rate and recovery rate from the OUI are for the 12 months running through the end of the first quarter of 2013. Unemployment rate from the BLS are for June 2013, with job growth numbers reflecting changes in the nonfarm payrolls measure from the year before. The final rank reflects a composite score of these four measures weighted equally. Data on change in Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits comes from NELP. Dixon noted that since the data was put together, North Carolina has made changes in its UI program to cut weekly benefits. Those changes are not reflected in our data.

These are the best states in which to be unemployed.

10. Kansas
> Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 44% (23rd highest)
> Pct. average weekly wage covered: 43.2% (4th highest)
> Unemployment rate: 5.8% (14th lowest)
> 1-yr. job growth: 1.3% (tied for 24th highest)

Kansas residents received an average of nearly $334 a week in unemployment insurance in the 12 months ending with the first quarter of 2013. At 43.2% of the state’s average weekly wage, this was more than all but three other states. Also impressive, the state had a June unemployment rate of just 5.8%, while the national rate was 7.6%. However, Kansas has lagged behind the rest of the country in job growth in the past six months, growing payrolls by just 1.3% versus 1.7% nationwide. One of the major drags on the state’s economy has been Wichita’s aircraft industry, which has not recovered the jobs it cut during the recession.

9. Utah
> Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 31% (6th lowest)
> Pct. average weekly wage covered: 43.3% (3rd highest)
> Unemployment rate: 4.7% (8th lowest)
> 1-yr. job growth: 2.2% (6th highest)

Unemployed Utahns entitled to benefits received more than 43% of their average weekly wages, higher than all other states except for Hawaii and North Dakota. Those finding themselves unemployed may have an easier time jumping back into the workforce as well. The unemployment rate in Utah was just 4.7% in June, the eighth lowest of all states. Between June 2012 and June 2013, there were 2.2% more nonfarm workers, a bigger increase than all but five other states.

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8. Washington
> Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 45% (tied for 19th highest)
> Pct. average weekly wage covered: 38.6% (15th highest)
> Unemployment rate: 6.8% (20th lowest)
> 1-yr. job growth: 2.0% (tied for 7th highest)

Washington residents received fairly generous unemployment insurance benefits in the 12 months ending with the first quarter of 2013, averaging nearly $378 a week. This was equal to 38.6% of the state’s average weekly wage of just under $980 — among the highest in the nation — and was better than the 33% workers received nationally in benefits on average. The unemployed in Washington also faced a fairly strong job market, with employment growing at 2% in the past 12 months through June. The Seattle area has recovered the majority of jobs it lost during the recession, although much of the job growth and availability was limited to high-skilled workers with backgrounds in engineering and technology.

7. Vermont
> Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 48% (12th highest)
> Pct. average weekly wage covered: 39.9% (10th highest)
> Unemployment rate: 4.4% (4th lowest)
> 1-yr. job growth: 1.1% (19th lowest)

Vermont paid out a benefit of nearly $309 in the 12 months running through the first quarter of 2013. This comprised nearly 40% of average weekly wages, higher than the majority of states. The unemployment rate in Vermont as of June 2013 was just 4.4%, lower than all but three other states, although the number of nonfarm jobs rose only 1.1% between June 2012 and June 2013, lower than the 1.7% nationwide growth.

6. Idaho
> Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 47% (tied for 14th highest)
> Pct. average weekly wage covered: 37.5% (18th highest)
> Unemployment rate: 6.4% (17th lowest)
> 1-yr. job growth: 3.0% (the highest)

Idaho had the nation’s fastest nonfarm job growth of 3% between June 2012 and June 2013, which may help explain the state’s relatively low unemployment rate of 6.4%. Among the unemployed, a relatively high percentage received benefits. However, the state average weekly wages of just $681 was one of the lowest in the nation, compared to $923 nationally. Idaho had the highest percentage of workers earning minimum wage in the country, and in an interview with Idaho’s StateImpact, Mike Ferguson, the director of the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy noted that there was an ongoing “race to the bottom and we’re pretty darn close to winning.”

5. Minnesota
> Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 47% (tied for 14th highest)
> Pct. average weekly wage covered: 39.3% (13th highest)
> Unemployment rate: 5.2% (9th lowest)
> 1-yr. job growth: 1.7% (14th highest)

Job growth in Minnesota was in line with the rest of the nation. Similarly, the percentage of unemployed residents receiving unemployment benefits was only slightly above the national benchmarks. The state’s low unemployment rate of 5.2% helped make Minnesota a top five state for unemployed workers seeking a job. Also, Minnesota’s ability to support its unemployed residents is likely to be less affected by the sequester than other states. While the average national cut in unemployment benefits is expected to drop by $43 per person, it is only expected to drop by $37 a person in Minnesota.

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4. Iowa
> Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 45% (tied for 19th highest)
> Pct. average weekly wage covered: 43.2% (4th highest)
> Unemployment rate: 4.6% (5th lowest)
> 1-yr. job growth: 1.6% (21st highest)

Iowa had one of the nation’s lowest unemployment rates — at just 4.6%, it is three percentage points lower than the national rate of 7.6%. The unemployment insurance benefit was equal to 43.2% of the average weekly wage — tied for fourth highest in the nation. But according to The Des Moines Register, job growth in Iowa is expected to fall short of goals set by Governor Terry Branstad, who aimed to add 200,000 jobs over five years ending in 2016.

3. North Dakota
> Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 36% (14th lowest)
> Pct. average weekly wage covered: 43.9% (2nd highest)
> Unemployment rate: 3.1% (the lowest)
> 1-yr. job growth: 2.6% (4th highest)

The average weekly benefit for unemployed workers in North Dakota was more than $376 as of the first quarter of 2013, higher than all but five other states. However, just 800 people received unemployment insurance, the second fewest of all states. North Dakota and its residents are benefiting from an oil boom, which is bringing many jobs to the area. The number of nonfarm workers grew 2.6% between June 2012 and June 2013, higher than all but four other states. This comes on top of a 9.8% growth in the previous 12 months, which was by far the biggest growth of all states that year. The unemployment rate as of June 2013 was a mere 3.1%, lower than any other state.

2. Hawaii
> Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 51% (10th highest)
> Pct. average weekly wage covered: 53.0% (the highest)
> Unemployment rate: 4.6% (5th lowest)
> 1-yr. job growth: 1.3% (tied for 24th highest)

The average benefit in Hawaii was more than $422 per week, comprising 53% of the average weekly wages — both the highest in the country. Of those who were unemployed, 51% received benefits, higher than all but nine other states. Hawaii had only a 4.6% unemployment rate as of June 2013, lower than all but four other states. There were 6.1% more tourists in the state in the first four months of 2013, compared to the same time in 2012, with a related increase of 6.3% in total spending during that time. According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, this translated into 3,000 more local jobs.

1. Montana
> Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 55% (8th highest)
> Pct. average weekly wage covered: 40.3% (9th highest)
> Unemployment rate: 5.4% (12th lowest)
> 1-yr. job growth: 2.0% (tied for 7th highest)

Being unemployed in Montana does not look the same as it does for most of the country. On average, unemployment benefits covered more than 40% of the state’s average weekly wages in the 12 months ending with the first quarter of 2013, the ninth highest of all states. In addition to unemployment rate being among the lowest in the country, nonfarm employment grew by 2%, higher than all but a handful of states. Employment growth was most noticeable in the information field and in and professional and business services, where the number of jobs grew by 7.4% and 7.1%, respectively. Montana was also in the top 10 of all states in terms of employment growth in the previous 12 months.

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