Bet you didn't see this coming

Woodland Park CO

Description

Red states leading US economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. 10 states with the lowest unemployment rates are all led by GOP governors. States with Republican governors are leading the U.S. economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, while those run by Democrats – which tended to impose lengthier and stricter lockdowns on businesses – are faced with significantly higher unemployment rates. Labor Department data published last week shows the 10 states with the lowest unemployment rates are all led by GOP governors – while the 10 states with the highest percentage of out-of-work Americans are run by Democratic governors. Blue states including Nevada (7.7%), New York (7.6%), New Mexico (7.6%), California (7.6%) and New Jersey (7.3%) had substantially higher unemployment rates than the national average of 5.4% in July, the data shows. By comparison, red states – such as Nebraska (2.3%), Utah (2.6%), New Hampshire (2.9%), South Dakota (2.9%) and Idaho (3%) – were well below the national average. In fact, of the 20 states with the lowest unemployment rate, those led by Republican governors account for a vast majority: 16. Twenty-five of the 27 GOP-led states gained jobs in the last month, the data shows, while two of the states – Idaho and Utah – actually have more jobs than in February 2020, before the pandemic hit. Conversely, just 13 states led by Democrats have recovered at least two-thirds of the jobs lost during the pandemic. Overall, the average unemployment rate in red states is 4.3%, while the average jobless rate in blue states is 5.9%, above the national average. The data comes less than one month before supplemental unemployment benefits – first established in March 2020 and renewed twice by Congress – are poised to expire on Sept. 6 under the $1.9 trillion relief plan that Democrats passed in March. Some 7.5 million workers are expected to lose their benefits, according to a recent report published by the left-leaning Century Foundation.