The historically unprecedented jobless claims amounting to 26.5 million in the United States over the past five weeks have hit states controlled by the Republican Party particularly hard.
The staggering number of unemployed confirms the U.S. is now in its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of 1929. This fact also makes it more difficult for President Donald Trump to win re-election on November 3. Trump has always bragged his greatest achievement and argument for re-election is the strong U.S. economy -- which no longer exists.
New unemployment numbers released Thursday show 26.5 million Americans have lost their jobs over the past five weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This unheard-of jobless figure has completely erased all the 22.7 million new jobs created since the Great Recession of 2008, according to analysts.
The Red States, or states that are strongly Republican, and those controlled by the Republican Party are suffering the most from the unprecedented economic freeze that has destroyed millions of jobs and is forcing thousands of firms into bankruptcy due to demand destruction. Ironically, the Blue States, or those that are strongholds of the Democratic Party, are least affected by the ongoing economic recession.
The top 10 states seeing the biggest increases in unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic are the Red States, or states either strongly Republican or which are now controlled by the GOP, according to a study conducted by personal finance website, WalletHub. The 10 worst-hit states are (from first to tenth): Florida, Louisiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Colorado.
"With an average rank of 22 among the most affected states, red states suffered a higher increase in unemployment during the coronavirus outbreak than blue states, which rank 32 on average," said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. "The lower the number, the higher the increase in initial unemployment claims that the state received during the coronavirus pandemic."
Gonzalez, however, said states can minimize the rise in their unemployment rates. She said should aggressively focus on helping companies in the most need. She pointed out the federal response to the recession has included sending checks to most Americans, even those whose income hasn't been affected by the pandemic.
"States can use a more targeted approach to divert resources to the companies affected the most, thus having a maximum impact for the money spent," said Gonzalez.
In contrast, the states least affected by the economic crisis are mostly Blue States (or states that are traditional strongholds of the Democratic Party), or which are now controlled by Democrats. These states are New Jersey, Illinois, Montana, Idaho, Wisconsin, Vermont, Massachusetts, Wyoming, Oregon, and Rhode Island, according to WalletHub. Only Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are the Red States.
