We now live in the Unemployed States of America. Here are 50 stories of life without a paycheck in 2020.

Stacie Sulzen never missed a shift. The 51-year-old bartender in Kansas often worked double shifts to cover for her colleagues. She was happy bartending for the past 27 years, particularly when she got to socialize with patrons.

When the pandemic hit in March, she figured the bar would close for a couple of weeks and she'd get some much-needed rest. But she still hasn't gone back to work.

The coronavirus pandemic has decimated the food-service industry, and millions of restaurant and bar workers like Sulzen have lost their jobs.

Sulzen said it took the state three months to begin giving her unemployment benefits, and the website crashed when she filed a claim to get back pay.

Sulzen doesn't know if she'll ever go back to the bar.

"I'm glad I was able to prepay my bills for a few months, but after that the future looks uncertain," she told Business Insider.

Sulzen's story reflects the reality of the 55 million Americans who have filed for unemployment since mid-March. They've struggled to find work, make ends meet, and navigate a complicated and patchwork unemployment system.

Mapping the damage

As the coronavirus swept across the country and a number of states and localities implemented strict lockdowns to slow its spread, unemployment spiked to levels not seen since the Great Depression.

While the national unemployment rate in August was down to 8.4% — 6.3 percentage points lower than the peak rate of 14.7% in April — there were still 11.5 million fewer employed Americans in August than in February, before the coronavirus began spreading widely in the US.

The economic pain has been widespread, and no state has come out unscathed. As of July, unemployment rates ranged from a low of 4.6% in Utah to a high of 16.2% in Massachusetts.

Employment, as measured by the number of Americans on nonfarm payrolls, remains lower in every state and DC than before the start of the pandemic. About 29 million Americans were still receiving some form of unemployment insurance during the week ending August 15.

In the early months of the pandemic, Congress authorized a supplemental $600 a week in unemployment benefits for workers dislocated by the pandemic. But those benefits expired at the end of July, slashing pay for the unemployed. According to the Department of Labor, average unemployment benefits in most states are far less generous than that supplement.

There are troubling signs that while employment has improved from the depths of spring, ongoing economic pain could be felt. While the unemployment rate improved in August, the number of people who permanently lost a job increased and the number of temporary layoffs decreased. It suggests that many jobs that were furloughed could now be permanently eliminated, leading to a longer and harder recovery.

The Congressional Budget Office predicted in April that unemployment could be above 10% on average throughout 2021, far higher than the prepandemic rate of 3.8% in the first quarter of 2020. The Federal Reserve's most recent projections suggest a 2021 unemployment rate of 6.5%, lower than the CBO's projections but still well above the rate before the crisis. The IRS released a report in August projecting far fewer tax returns filed for years to come, also suggesting a long-lasting slump in employment.

That means that even a relatively quick recovery from the pandemic could leave economic scars across the country.

50 states, 50 lives

To tell the story of this historic moment, Business Insider collected experiences from people of every state who lost work from the coronavirus pandemic. They said that the country's unemployment insurance system, a historically neglected and underfunded unit, left them unable to get a hold of their benefits and put them further into debt. Americans are struggling to find work because job growth hasn't kept up with the number of jobs lost.

They are also grappling with the reality of the coronavirus. Kimberly Stephens, who lives in California, has to find work while still grieving for the loss of her loved ones. Stephanie Ravion, a 34-year-old mom of four in Arkansas, has an underlying medical condition, and she fears that finding nonremote work could kill her. Elisa Hitchcok cares for her elderly parents in Alaska, and she'd rather remain unemployed than expose her loved ones.

"I have worked hard since I was 16 years old, and it hurts that the government is not here for me when I need it," Tyrone Baker, a 46-year-old auto technician in South Carolina, said.

But the story of coronavirus in the US has also been one of resilience. Laid-off Americans told Business Insider they've tried staying positive as they navigate impossible circumstances.

After getting laid off from his job as a pharmaceutical recruiter in Florida, 31-year-old Artie Dromerhauser has struggled to pay bills and considered asking his family for financial assistance. Yet he's also looking at his situation as a sign he should switch careers and pivot into the entertainment industry. He's already started looking into voice acting.

William Oliver Coursey, 31, lost his job at a YMCA in Delaware. He said the $600 weekly benefits kept the family afloat, but since the state cut them down to $100 a week he's had to dip into his savings account. He's trying to look at the bright side, like his wife's new business idea and having the chance to spend more time with his kids.

"Having my wife and kids here, not treating me any different, not treating me like I lost my job, it's a great feeling," Coursey said. "They're the only reasons why I stayed sane, because if it wasn't for them I would have blamed myself."

Click through the grid below to see what living through labor loss looks like state to state.