HELENA, Mont. – Last week, Governor Greg Gianforte announced that Montana’s unemployment rate hit 3.3 percent-the lowest it has been since July of 2007. Montana Republican Party Chairman Don “K” Kaltschmidt released the following statement following the announcement:

“While Joe Biden and the Democrats in Washington D.C.’s reckless spending agenda smothers the economic recovery on the national level, Republican-led states continue to see more jobs and lower unemployment,” said Chairman Don “K” Kaltschmidt. “Thanks to Governor Gianforte’s leadership, unemployment is the lowest it’s been in 14 years, employed workers are at an all-time-time high, and all jobs lost in Montana during the pandemic have been recovered. Montana is open for business, and leading the way when it comes to getting Americans back to work.”

According to recently released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Republican-led states continue to see more jobs and lower unemployment. In fact, 17 of the top 20 states for jobs recovered since the coronavirus pandemic began are led by Republican governors and the top 14 states for jobs recovered are all led by Republicans.

Red states have also achieved lower unemployment rates than blue states. For perspective, the top 11 states with the lowest unemployment rates are all led by Republicans. The 8 states with the highest unemployment rates are all led by Democrat governors: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York. The unemployment rates in 9 Republican-led states – Nebraska, Utah, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Georgia, Montana, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Mississippi – are lower than or at the same level they were when the pandemic began.

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