If you’re looking for work, Massachusetts and Connecticut are the best places to start, while Louisiana and West Virginia are the worst.
That’s according to a report from WalletHub that compared states using 34 key indicators of job-market strength and economic vitality.
Utah ranked 14th-best overall among the 50 states. WalletHub took on the study as unemployment rates hovered around 4 percent nationally. The data in the study set ranges from employment growth to the median annual income and average commute time.
The top eight states for jobs were Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Texas and North Dakota. The eight lowest-rated states, starting with the worst, were West Virginia, Louisiana, Kentucky, Alaska, Oregon, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Montana.
Here were some comparisons:
Texas has the highest monthly average starting salary, which is 2.2 times higher than in Alaska, the lowest. South Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate, which is 3.1 times lower than in Nevada, the highest. Maryland has the fewest part-time employees per 100 full-time employees, which is 1.7 times fewer than in Alaska. New Hampshire has the lowest share of workers living in poverty, which is 3.2 times lower than in New Mexico, the highest.
“Living in one of the best states for jobs can provide stable conditions for the long term, helping you ride out the fluctuations that the economy will experience in the future,” said Chip Lupo, an analyst for WalletHub. “The best states for jobs make it easier for residents to find and retain jobs, and employers in these states also offer very competitive compensation and benefits. In addition, the top states are great places for people looking to raise a family, ranking among the best states for working parents.”
He said Massachusetts was the best state because in part it has one of the highest worker protection scores. It boasts of having the number of jobs available increasing by about 2.4 percent a year, fourth-highest in the nation.
“Once people get jobs in Massachusetts, they’re also likely to keep them, as the state has the third-best job security,” he said. “To top things off, Massachusetts has the third-lowest percentage of the workforce living in poverty, which demonstrates that workers are generally receiving reasonable pay.”
The study said jobs involving human contact are seeing the most growth: customer service, sales, social work, etc. As technology expands, some of those jobs may become more automated, but high-touch jobs like in restaurants, hotels, resorts, stadiums and arenas will grow and be more highly compensated as technology advances. Other areas of growth will be health care professions, particularly in mental health and care for the aging population.