Unemployment Still High in Key Electoral States: Campaign Update

(Bloomberg) -- The much-trumpeted improvement in the national jobs picture last month masked uneven unemployment rates in key electoral states, according to new data released by the Labor Department on Friday.

Florida, a perennial presidential battleground, was one of three states that saw its unemployment rate increase, up 0.7 points to a record 14.5%. The national unemployment rate is 13.3%.

Michigan’s unemployment rate decreased by 2.8 percentage points in May but remains at 21.2%, the third highest overall. New Hampshire and Ohio saw big jobs gains but also remain above the national average.

President Donald Trump has trumpeted the May jobs report as “the greatest comeback in American history” and has banked his re-election bid on improving conditions as the worst of the coronavirus pandemic wanes. But presidential elections are decided state-by-state, where local economic conditions can have a bigger impact on Election Day than national numbers.

Bright spots in May included Arizona, at 8.9%, and Georgia, at 9.7%, two states that Trump won in 2016 but which Democrats are hoping to turn to their column.

Coming up:

President Donald Trump is planning to resume big rallies with an event on Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for the week beginning Aug. 17 in Milwaukee, while the Republicans are slated to meet a week later with events in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida.

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