January Report: 17 out of Top 20 States With the Lowest Unemployment are GOP-Led

March 14, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the state employment report for the month of January revealing the top states with the lowest unemployment rates are Republican-led.

  • Nine Republican-led states now hold the lowest unemployment rates ever recorded by BLS for their states, and
  • More than six times as many GOP-led states (19) are below the national average for unemployment than Democrat-led counterparts (3).

Today’s report comes just weeks after data for 2021 revealed that red states held their position as the top states with the lowest unemployment rates throughout last year. Seventeen of the top 20 states with the lowest unemployment rates in January were all led by Republican governors including:

  • Nebraska
  • Utah
  • Indiana
  • Montana
  • Oklahoma
  • South Dakota
  • New Hampshire
  • Idaho
  • Vermont
  • Alabama
  • North Dakota
  • Arkansas
  • Georgia
  • Virginia
  • Florida
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee

Eight of the top 10 states with the highest unemployment rates in January were led by Democrat governors including:

  • New Mexico
  • California
  • Pennsylvania
  • New York
  • Connecticut
  • New Jersey
  • Nevada
  • Illinois

Read more from the January BLS report here.

“The Democrat governors just now starting to close the chapter on COVID are to blame for their states’ stunted economic growth and consistently high unemployment rates,” said RGA Communications Director Jesse Hunt. “The country can’t afford the failed leadership of Democrat governors who refuse to speak up as Biden’s reckless policies cause American dependence on foreign oil and prioritize handouts over hard work. Americans know Republican governors are offering real solutions to help get them back on their feet and offset costs of Biden’s record-high inflation.”