Worst States for Jobs
1. Michigan
Unemployment rate: 7.6 percent
Population: 10,071,822
Mean annual wage: $41,230
Top industry: Trade, transportation and utilities (18.4 percent)***
2. Mississippi
Unemployment rate: 6.8 percent
Population: 2,918,785
Mean annual wage: $30,460
Top industry: Government (21.2 percent)
3. South Carolina
Unemployment rate: 6.6 percent
Population: 4,407,709
Mean annual wage: $33,400
Top industry: Trade, transportation and utilities (19.4 percent)
4. Alaska
Unemployment rate: 6.5 percent
Population: 683,478
Mean annual wage: $43,920
Top industry: Government (25.9 percent)
5. California
Unemployment rate: 6.1 percent
Population: 36,553,215
Mean annual wage: $44,180
Top industry: Trade, transportation and utilities (18.9 percent)
6. District of Columbia
Unemployment rate: 6.1 percent
Population: 588,292
Mean annual wage: $61,500
Top industry: Government (33.3 percent)
7. Ohio
Unemployment rate: 6 percent
Population: 11,466,917
Mean annual wage: $37,360
Top industry: Trade, transportation and utilities (19.3 percent)
8. Arkansas
Unemployment rate: 5.9 percent
Population: 2,834,797
Mean annual wage: $30,870
Top industry: Trade, transportation and utilities (20.6 percent)
9. Nevada
Unemployment rate: 5.8 percent
Population: 2,565,382
Mean annual wage: $36,000
Top industry: Leisure and hospitality (26.5 percent)
10. Kentucky
Unemployment rate: 5.7 percent
Population: 4,241,474
Mean annual wage: $33,490
Top industry: Trade, transportation and utilities (20.4 percent)
*Unemployment rates, mean annual wages and industry percentages obtained from BLS in January 2008. Percentages based on nonfarm payrolls, seasonally adjusted.
**Population figures based on U.S. Census Bureau data.
***Top industries are those that employ the largest percentage of a state’s labor force.
Of course, at DraftHaley.com, they are touting what an economic machine Barbour is for our state. Something just doesn't seem to add up here.
Governor Barbour responded with fiscal discipline, balanced budgets, and no new taxes. The result has been the creation of more than 38,000 jobs, the highest employment level in Mississippi history and a 15 percent increase in personal income.
We're a poor, heavily rural state; the 6.8% unemployment rate doesn't stun me. The question is how we fix it, and this is where Barbour's pro-corporate policies could be an asset rather than a liability. We need more out of state enterprise, and economic development, in Mississippi if we're going to chip away at those unemployment numbers.
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