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Last week, US Labor Department published data that shows the 10 states with the lowest unemployment rates are all led by GOP governors, and the 10 states with the highest percentage of out-of-work Americans are run by Democratic governors. States with Republican governors are leading the US economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Democrats run states that imposed lengthier and stricter lockdowns on businesses that experienced significantly higher unemployment rates. The data shows that 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 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.

The data shows twenty-five of the 27 GOP-led states gained jobs in the last month while two of the states including Idaho and Utah actually have more jobs than in February 2020, before the pandemic hit. There are 20 states with the lowest unemployment rate led by Republican governors. Only 13 Democratic-led states have recovered at least two-thirds of the jobs lost during the pandemic. The overall 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. It was first established in March 2020 and renewed twice by Congress, and poised to expire on 6^th September. A recent report has indicated that at least 7.5 million workers are expected to lose their benefits.

The Biden administration has maintained that it’s appropriate for the 3 relief programs to end on Labor Day. The administration also encouraged states with high unemployment rates to continue repurposing federal funds to extend the assistance. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh wrote a letter to the Democratic congressional chairman. The letter said, “Even as the economy continues to recover and robust job growth continues, there are some states where it may make sense for unemployed workers to continue receiving additional assistance for a longer period of time, allowing residents of those states more time to find a job in areas where unemployment remains high”. However, 23 Republican-led states have ended the unemployment programs. The data shows little statistical evidence that prematurely ending benefits had a disproportionate impact on employment.