A review of current state unemployment rates reveals a stark partisan divide between the states with the highest and lowest unemployment rates. As the chart below reflects, nine of ten states with the highest recent unemployment rates have a Democratic governor (the tenth is deep-blue Massachusetts, currently led by Republican governor Charlie Baker). Meanwhile eight of the ten states with the lowest unemployment rates have a Republican governor (with the two exceptions being otherwise red states of Montana and Kentucky). The 30 states in the middle are more evenly split — 17 have a Republican governor and 13 have a Democratic governor.
States by Current Total Unemployment Rate (TUR) and Governor’s Party
Sources: Department of Labor. Total unemployment rate is the most recent three-month seasonally adjusted average total unemployment rate (TUR). Governor’s party affiliation here.
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