CTUP senior fellow EJ Antoni notes:

New York had 768,000 more jobs than Florida pre-COVID, not surprising given the disproportionate number of retirees in Florida.  Employment in both states tanked to almost the same level.

But thanks in part to much more severe and longer-lasting lockdowns in NY, the Empire State today is still 267,000 jobs short of pre-COVID level. Florida today has 503,000 MORE jobs than pre-COVID level.

The icing on the cake: Florida now has more jobs than New York for the first time EVER.

High taxes, combined with draconian and ineffective lockdown policies drove people, businesses, and jobs out of the Empire State into the Sunshine State.