Fema Employment

Blue states VS red states Bureau of Labor Statistics, why red is better?

Bears and partisans are exuberant about the August employment report, which recorded a loss of 4,000 jobs in a labor market that employs 138 million. Employment, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was “essentially unchanged,” with losses concentrated in the manufacturing (-46,000) and government (-28,000) sectors. This was no surprise: Manufacturing has contracted in August in eight of the last ten years, dating back to the Clinton era. Employment is a broad economic indicator, and last Friday’s less-than-stellar report deserves attention. But another monthly BLS report on regional and state employment offers a view of the jobs market through an alternative lens. In particular, this report allows one to compare employment growth between the so-called Blue and Red states. Political pundits identify 18 bona-fide Blue states, which backed Democrats Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004, and 29 clear-cut Red states, which supported Republican President George W. Bush both times out. Blue states are said to be “liberal,” and Red states “conservative.” But there might be another reason to term certain states “blue”: weak employment growth in a period of expansion. Total Blue-state employment growth has been only 3.3 percent during the current expansion, which began in November 2001, compared with the U.S. rate of 5.5 percent. Meanwhile, total Red-state employment growth has been 7.5 percent, more than double that of the Blue states. In baseball terms, one might say the Blue team is hitting only 5-for-13 for a mere .277 average, while the Red team is slugging 18-for-29 for a league-leading .621. Here’s a closer look at the stats: Job growth has trailed the U.S. average in 13 Blue states. California, the largest Blue-state labor market, fell behind by the narrow margin of less than a half-percent, while growth has been slower in Rhode Island (5%), Minnesota (4.1%), Wisconsin (3.1%), New York (2.8%), New Jersey (2.7%), Pennsylvania (2.7%), Vermont (2.3%), Maine (2.1%), Connecticut (1.5%), Illinois (1.1%), Massachusetts (-0.2%), and Michigan (-5%). The job losses in Michigan and Massachusetts have been the most severe, falling below 2001 levels. Regionally speaking, this blue-streak continues. The Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, and New England regions, all predominantly Blue, have trailed the U.S. jobs-growth average. The only Blue region to beat the average has been the West, fueled by above-average jobs gains in Hawaii (15.2%), Washington (9.5%), and Oregon (9%). Two other Blue states — Delaware (5.8%) and Maryland (6.1%) — also have bested the U.S. average. Now for the Red team: Of 29 certified Red states, a full 18 have topped the U.S. jobs-growth rate. And here an interesting trend appears: Red states with no income taxes — Nevada (25.7%), Wyoming (15.2%), Florida (13.9%), Alaska (10.2%), Texas (9.1%), South Dakota (8.3%), and Tennessee (5.5%) — have all witnessed above-average job growth. Not surprisingly, three of four Red regions have led the U.S. in job growth: Red states in the West have expanded 15.9 percent followed by the Plains (7.7%) and the Southeast (7.5%). The only Red region to trail the U.S. jobs-growth average has been the Midwest (1%). This trend is not new. It has merely been overlooked by the mainstream media. Labor is colorblind in the political context of Red and Blue states. And as long as the Red states let Americans keep more of what they earn, jobs will unevenly flow their way.

Public Comments

1. all that truth will enrage the liberals. they will blame Bush.
2. bush is a uniter and not a divider.
3. I only got about a third of the way through your question....yawn....boring....
4. did you know that the highest teenage pregnancy is in the red states and the highest divorce rate is in red states. Once again it appears to be proof that the Democratic Party is the NEW Moral Majority.
5. whats your question? all you did was cut and paste some stats.
6. you will be called a liar and what not but i suppose to the blue states: the truth hurts....
7. Jeez, thought this was a question, not a friggin essay. Red states have better employment cause if you poor and unemployed there, they throw you in jail. Or better yet, throw you in jail, and then ship you to a blue state. Also, you can now count service jobs as job growth, you want fries with that? Oh, I also have some statistics for that, 85% said, screw you, another 10% only said you were a jerk, and 5% said you had your head up your butt.
8. Also what constitutes a "Job". Is it a $8.00 an hour job chasing carts at Wal Mart or one that pays 50k a year? Creating jobs for people who live at home isn't a sign of prosperity.
9. Actually Truthseeker if you throw out the blue counties in red states you will see that you are all wet. In the suburbs there is less crime and divorce...cities have most crime and higher divorce rates...and you guys say Petreus cooks the books for Bush?
10. So if there is so much job growth in the red states, how come the liberal blue states are still supporting them through the federal tax system? Maybe those new jobs in the red states aren’t paying too well.
11. This is true. We're not experiencing unemployment problems down here. There are plenty of jobs available for the taking. What's difficult for many to understand is the difference in the cost of living in many of our red states vs the blue states. Lower taxes, lower property costs, always equal lower wages. We're seeing a substantial increase of industry that's moving south because of our wage and tax structures and believe me, we're not crying the blues. Even our housing industry hasn't slowed down as drastically when compared to other parts of the country. Gimme a red state any day!
12. Lol first of all this is not a question it is a rant. Secondly I would like to compare the average wages earned by blue staters vs red staters and see what that number is. I have a feeling Blue States would win. Fast food jobs which are probably the jobs your referring to as being created are not exactly the jobs people are looking for.
13. I like you post but it's not a question, i suggest you post it on a blog or message board. There is a bit of misconecption here. First of all understand that the Republican Party is considered pro-business, as such businesses (which is what generates employment) are more comfortable in the red states. So it really is no surprise that there would be more employment opportunity in red states. Not to mention a question in regards to buildings and where there is room to build in certain communities. I don’t’ have time to look up stats, but it seems to me that there is more room to build in Texas or the Midwest then there would be in the Northeast. Additionally, I believe you have been fooled by the thought of red states allow you to keep more of your money. Yes some states do not have an income tax however that does not mean that citizens of those states aren’t taxed. You still pay your taxes to the government in the form of higher sales and property tax. Also you have other things which cost you money. There are now some police depts. In Texas that charge you for a call, if the police go out to the scene of an auto accident the party at fault for the accident (or there insurance co.) will receive a bill from the police dept. Not to mention having to pay tolls just to drive on the road. Texas is now the #1 state in tolls. Tolls cost me $60 a month for my daily commute. There are a number of other issues which are typically paid for by your taxes that the government is now passing off, while they are passing off these expense they have not lowered the taxes.
14. interesting. and for fun we have redvsblue.com