A study issued by Beacon Center of Tennessee showed Tennessee and Georgia fared better and lost fewer jobs than Kentucky and Michigan, which implemented more economic restrictions.

The report measured the economic and health impacts of COVID policies in four states – Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Michigan. Those states were chosen to see how states that imposed tougher economic restrictions in the name of public safety fared compared to states that tried a more balanced approach. The results of the study become more important as a roadmap as the Delta variant continues to spread across the country, according to the Beacon Center.

The report showed that Tennessee and Georgia both fared substantially better economically than Kentucky and Michigan with no significant increase in cases from reopening its economy. Kentucky lost 3.2 times more jobs than Tennessee, and four times as many Kentuckians gave up looking for work compared to Tennesseans.

Click to read the full study.