A new study looks at how red and blue states compare in getting back jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic

A study breaks down employment and COVID-19 case data by state to determine which states recovered the most jobs. As of July, MoneyGeek reports Illinois recovered nearly 884-thousand jobs lost since last April’s low, which is 78 percent. That ranks 34th in the country. Researcher Doug Milnes says red and blue states are now equal in job recovery.

Milnes says blue states like Illinois lagged in job recovery because of widespread economic shutdowns.

The study found that only 14 states fully recovered to jobs levels above those in February of 2020, a month before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.