In Part I or our series comparing red states and blue states, we found that the former enjoyed better overall economic performance.
In Part II, we discovered that red states did much better with regards to unemployment.
But the unemployment rate does not fully capture the strength of the labor market. It’s also important to look at how many people are actually working. Especially in the economy’s productive sector.
So, for Part III of our series, here’s a fascinating visual showing how quickly private sector employment rebounded after the pandemic.
It’s from John Phelan of Minnesota’s Center of the American Experiment, so he’s focusing on his state’s lagging performance, but if you look at the states with the best performance (fewest months before jobs recovered) and the states with the worst performance (states where private-sector jobs still haven’t recovered), red states are doing better.
It’s not a perfect relationship, of course, since some red-oriented, energy-producing red states are at, or near, the bottom. But those are exceptions to the general rule.
Vance Ginn and Erik Randolph discussed the gap between red states and blue states in a column last year for Real Clear Policy. Here are some of their findings.
Freer states that were more reluctant to shut down their economies due to COVID-19 are doing much better economically than states with severe shutdowns. Even a state like California is suffering — which was considered an American paradise for nearly a century, with its perfect weather and natural beauty. …Residents are fleeing California, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania for places like Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas. …the most important statistic is how Americans are voting with their feet. Forty-six million Americans changed zip codes in a 12-month period ending in February 2022. That’s the most moves since 2010. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2021, California, New York, and Illinois had the highest domestic migration losses, and Florida, Texas, and Arizona gained the most.
The moral of the story is that people are “voting with their feet” against high taxes and excessive government.
And it’s not simply a matter of moving to places with better climate. If that was the case, California would be the nation’s top destination (and it was, prior to getting captured by the left).
P.S. Speaking of California, click here for my series comparing California and Texas. You can also click here for the comparisons between New York and Florida.
P.P.S. Sadly, some blue states want to accelerate the loss of jobs and investment.
