“Survey Says” examines a variety of rankings and scorecards that assess different geographic locations, with the disclaimer that these ratings are best understood as a blend of data and creative interpretation.
According to a Labor Day evaluation by a pro-labor group, California is the second-best location to work in the country.
My trustworthy spreadsheet examined Oxfam’s annual Best States to Work Index to ascertain how well each state defends its workers’ rights at work. The index considers 27 issues related to workplace policies.
It was calculated and found that, aside from California, the best place to work was in Washington, D.C. California was followed by West Virginia, Oregon, and New York. The worst states were Mississippi, South Dakota, Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina.
And who are the most formidable economic rivals in the state? Florida was ranked 29th, and Texas was ranked 46th.
Let’s examine the three elements of this grading system, which are workplace conditions.
Wage policies: The minimum hourly wage has a significant impact on the scoring. California came in third. Above all? The District of Columbia comes in first, followed by West Virginia. Next up is New Jersey, followed by New York. The worst possible? Indiana was followed by South Dakota, Georgia, and Alabama. Florida was ranked forty-six, in 26th position.
This year, warehouse regulations were added to the computations to guarantee worker safety. In second place was the Golden State. Oregon is ranked among the greatest states. California is followed by Washington, DC, West Virginia, and New York. The worst states are Mississippi, North Carolina, and Alabama. 45 is the number? Texas. Thirty-one is Florida.
What are the obstacles to unionization in terms of the freedom to organize? California topped the list, followed by IL/Ohio, DC, NY, OR, DE, and Washington, DC. The worst possible? Texas, North Carolina, South Dakota, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Dakota. Twenty-seven was the number we discovered Florida.
Does regulating pro-labor have an expense attached? Let’s take a look at three position-related elements before we examine the rankings.
What is the current going rate?
With an annualized pay rate of $80,900, California ranked fourth in the first half of 2024. First place went to Washington, DC ($85,00), then Massachusetts ($85,400), and lastly, DC ($105,900). Mississippi had the lowest compensation, at $54,400.
West Virginia came in at $58,900, and New Mexico at $58,100. Texas is ranked #23 with $68,000, while Florida is ranked #26.
Which domains are dominated by organized labor?
California has the fifth-highest union representation rate, with 16.9% of all occupations. Above all? Hawaii accounts for 25.6%, New York for 21.5%, West Virginia for 18.1%, and New Jersey for 17.3% of this total.
The least favorable? South Carolina is divided into three states: South Carolina (3%), North Carolina (3.3%), and South Dakota (4.2%). Texas? Florida No. 41 at 6.1% and No. 45 at 5.4%.
Lastly, who is doing the recruiting?
California came in at number 25 with a 3.7% five-year job growth. That is well below the top three states, Nevada at 11.6%, Utah at 13.1%, and Idaho at 14.6%. No. 6 Texas, at 10.9%, and No. 5 Florida, at 11.2%. worst markets for jobs? Hawaii fell 3.4%, DC fell 3.3%, and Louisiana fell 1.8% in 2019–24.
Accordingly, the average yearly salary in the top 10 states according to Oxfam to work in is $78,400. Pay in the bottom ten is, on average, $18% less, or $64,200. In addition, 15% of the top 10 are unionized, compared to 8% of the lowest 10.
However, consider that since 2019, the top 10 average job growth has only been 1.7%. The bottom ten? 6.2% more jobs were created, almost quadrupling the rate.
If you’re trying to find job, take note that employers appear to be staying away from the expensive, pro-worker states.
California came in fifth position after New York, Washington, Hawaii, and Oregon in StartFleet’s “best place to work” ranking.
The worst possible? Louisiana, Wyoming, and Arkansas. No. 43: Texas. No. 28: Florida.