Commentary
The most recent jobs report found that nine of the 10 states with unemployment rates above 14 percent are in liberal blue states. Ranked from highest to lowest, they are Nevada (25.3 percent), Hawaii (22.6 percent), Michigan (21.2 percent), California (16.3 percent), Rhode Island (16.3 percent), Massachusetts (16.3 percent), Delaware (15.8 percent), Illinois (15.2 percent), New Jersey (15.2 percent) and Washington state (15.1 percent). I call this the “blue-state jobs depression.” The states with the lowest unemployment rates are all conservative red states: Nebraska (5.2 percent), Utah (8.5 percent), Wyoming 8.8 percent, Arizona (8.9 percent) and Idaho (8.9 percent).
