Gallup Good Jobs Rate Exceeds 50% in Five States

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Five U.S. states -- South Dakota, Maryland, Nebraska, North Dakota and Minnesota -- had Gallup Good Jobs (GGJ) rates above 50% in 2016. West Virginia, at 36.6%, had the lowest rate for the third consecutive year.

	States with highest GGJ rates	GGJ	States with lowest GGJ rates	GGJ
		%		%
	South Dakota	51.1	West Virginia	36.6
	Maryland	51	Florida	39.2
	Nebraska	51	Mississippi	39.2
	North Dakota	50.7	New Mexico	39.5
	Minnesota	50.3	Kentucky	40.2
	Alaska	49.6	Alabama	41.2
	Kansas	49.3	Maine	41.2
	Virginia	49.2	Arkansas	41.3
	Wisconsin	48.3	Oregon	41.4
	Colorado	47.9	Arizona	41.7
Gallup Daily

Gallup's GGJ metric tracks the percentage of the U.S. adult population aged 18 and older who are employed full time for an employer for at least 30 hours per week. These results are based on Gallup Daily tracking interviews throughout 2016 with nearly 355,000 U.S. adults. Gallup does not count adults who are self-employed, work fewer than 30 hours per week, are unemployed or are out of the workforce as payroll-employed in the GGJ metric.

The differences in GGJ rates across states may reflect several factors, including the overall employment situation and the population's demographic composition. States with large older and retired populations, for example, would have a lower percentage of adults working full time. Several of the states with the lowest GGJ rates in 2016 -- West Virginia, Florida and Maine -- have the largest proportions of residents aged 65 or older. Regardless of the underlying reason, however, the GGJ rate provides an indication of a state's economic vitality.

A cluster of states in the northern Plains and Rocky Mountains regions made the top 10 on this measure. The two states bordering the nation's capital, Maryland and Virginia, also had higher rates of full-time employment for an employer.

Minnesota, South Dakota Had Lowest Underemployment Rates

Gallup's U.S. underemployment rate is the percentage of adults in the workforce who are not employed but are looking and available for employment or who are working part time but desire full-time work. While GGJ reflects the proportion of adults working full time for an employer relative to the entire population, Gallup reports the underemployment rate as a proportion of adults in the workforce -- all those working or seeking work.

Minnesota had the lowest underemployment rate, at 8.9%, with South Dakota close behind, at 9.2%. New Mexico had the highest underemployment rate, at 17.5%, up from 15.5% measured in 2015. New York, California and Mississippi all had underemployment rates of 16% or more in 2016.

	States with lowest underemployment	Rate	States with highest underemployment	Rate
		%		%
	Minnesota	8.9	New Mexico	17.5
	South Dakota	9.2	Mississippi	16.8
	Nebraska	9.9	California	16.2
	Montana	10.3	New York	16
	Kansas	10.3	Alaska	15.9
	Utah	10.4	Nevada	15.9
	New Hampshire	10.6	Louisiana	15.7
	Missouri	10.8	Florida	15.5
	North Dakota	10.8	New Jersey	15.4
	Iowa	10.9	West Virginia	15.4
Gallup Daily

Consistent with the geographical pattern for Gallup Good Jobs rates, states in the northern Plains and Rocky Mountains regions -- including Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Montana and Utah -- were among those with the lowest underemployment rates in 2016. Underemployment was highest in the Southwest and Southeast, as well as in a few Mid-Atlantic states and Alaska.

Bottom Line

The most robust labor markets in the U.S. continue to center around the northern Plains states and the nation's capital, with consistently high rates of full-time employment for an employer and relatively low underemployment. The Southwest, Southeast and Appalachian regions continue to have some of the lowest GGJ rates.

Meanwhile, underemployment remains a more serious problem for large states on the coasts -- such as California, New York and Florida -- than for those in the interior of the country. These areas include some of the most populous and densely populated states with more competition for jobs.