California, which is still mired in its worst recession since the Great Depression, has the nation's third-worst job market, according to a new nationwide survey by the Gallup polling organization.
Only Nevada and New Jersey are in worse shape when it comes to creating new jobs, Gallup said, adding, "Despite an overall improvement in job market conditions, five states in the bottom 10 during 2008 and 2009 were also on the list in 2010: Nevada, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and California. These states continue to suffer from the housing crash and financial debacle that was part of the recession."
Energy- and commodity-producing states such as North and South Dakota and Alaska, as well as Washington, D.C., have the best job creation climate these days, Gallup found, while perpetually depressed Michigan showed the most improvement in 2010, thanks to the revival of its auto industry. Other industry-heavy states also showed sharp improvements.
The results came from interviews with nearly 200,000 adults across the nation, asking them about whether their employers are expanding or contracting payrolls. Overall, positive job creation responses outweighed negative ones by 7 percentage points.
The Gallup report is another dose of bad economic news for California, which has shed well over a million jobs since the recession began, has a stubborn 12-plus percent unemployment rate, owes the federal government more than $10 billion for unemployment insurance loans, and faces a state budget deficit or more than $25 billion.
The full Gallup report is available here.
Latest posts:
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.