Blue state vs Red State Unemployment Rates
Bottom Line: While basking in the awesomeness that is Florida’s unemployment rate, currently 4.8%, or 24% below the national average - I noticed the strongest economic trend I’ve ever seen politically. Blue states dominate all of the highest unemployment rates. In fact, all five states for the highest unemployment rates are governed by Democrats and all five states with the lowest unemployment rates are governed by Republicans. This led to me wanting to do a side-by-side comparison to analytically see how blue vs red played out during the pandemic and where we are today.
23 states have Democrats governing them. Of those states, the average unemployment rate based on the most recent reporting from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 6.9%, or 10% worse than the national average. This is highlighted by the three worst states for unemployment in the country – Hawaii at 10.2%, California at 9% and New York at 8.8%. So how does this compare?
27 states are led by Republican governors and the average unemployment rate in those states stands at 4.7%, or 25% below the national average. This is highlighted by the three states with the lowest unemployment rates – Nebraska at 3.2%, Utah at 3.1% and South Dakota at 3.1%. In Florida we sport the lowest unemployment rate of any large state with Texas being closest at 6.8%, a full two points higher.
As you’ll often hear me say...there are two sides to stories and one side to facts. It’s a fact that the decisions of Democrats have led to far higher than average unemployment rates and financial distress for residents of their states, while the inverse has been true. The pandemic has proven to be the ultimate illustration of red state vs blue state policy. The only question is why anyone would choose to vote for higher unemployment, financial distress and lockdowns?
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