States That Rate Poorly in Job Opportunities, Job Quality, and Workplace Fairness

[HM2VikingRN, RN]

Professor Pollin said, "There are many indexes that give a profile of a state's business climate, but until now, there hasn't been a comparable index of conditions for workers in each state. The WEI shows as that states that have a high WEI ranking provide an economic climate for business that is at least as attractive, if not more attractive, than states that are undesirable for workers."

According to the WEI, the top five states for worker environment are:

1. Delaware (89)

2. New Hampshire (81)

3. Minnesota (80)

4. Vermont (77)

5. Iowa (73)

The worst states for worker environment are:

46 - 48. Mississippi, South Carolina, Utah (tied - 36)

49. Arkansas (34)

50. Texas (33)

51. Louisiana (31)

http://bullyinginstitute.org/res/peri.html

The above links worker health to fairness at work issues.

[loricatus]

I certainly agree with the worst list, especially Texas. Don't know anything about the top of the list states. The information you provided is much appreciated and confirmed what I had thought.

[sharona97, BSN, RN]

as usual Viking

you know how to do your homework..ya u betcha eh?

[HM2VikingRN, RN]

You bet!

[ZASHAGALKA, RN]

How do I survive in my union-free hospital, with nurse friendly management, one of the highest cola adjusted salaries in the nation, with both a pension and a 403b plan, with California type ratios, no floating and the 97k mortgage on my 4br, 2ba, 2car garage house on a cul-de-sac opposite a park?

Hmmmm. Oh yeah, and no State income taxes.

~faith,

Timothy.

[HM2VikingRN, RN]

This article referred on a population level the experiences of workers. In any state there will be individual exceptions that prove the rule. I think that your experience probably falls into that category. The experience of other Texas workers indicates the opposite of your experience.

The study assessed:

1. Job Opportunities includes unemployment rates, and rates of "involuntary part-timers" – people who accept part-time jobs only because they can'’t find full-time employment;
   
2. Job Quality includes figures on average wages in each state, adjusted for cost-of-living, and the proportion of workers who receive health and retirement benefits;
   
3. Workplace Fairness measures the proportion of low-income workers, who earn less than 50 percent of the national average wage, after adjusting for cost-of-living differences, and the degree of pay equity among men and women. This category also considers each state's minimum wage, the degree to which collective bargaining is permitted in the public sector, and whether states have "right to work" provisions.

[HM2VikingRN, RN]

individuals in poverty, 2001-03

(3-year average)

texas u.s.

poverty rate 15.8% 12.1%

total in poverty 3.4 million 34.4 million

source: u.s. census bureau, march 2002-04 current population

surveys. for more information:

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html

poverty rates are also much higher for the state’s large and growing latino population and for african-american texans. child poverty—particularly among young children—is significantly higher in texas than in the nation as a whole.

accessed through: http://www.cppp.org/files/8/poverty101.pdf

poverty data that is readily available........

[HM2VikingRN, RN]

See also:

HOW MANY TEXANS ARE WORKING BUT REMAIN POOR?

Most poor families with children in Texas are working families. Of the 513,000 families with children below poverty, 81 percent—415,000—are headed by a worker. A family is considered “worker-headed” if either the head-of-household or spouse worked at some point during the year. These families worked, on average, 45 weeks per year. Approximately 1.7 million people, 943,000 of whom are children, live in these working-poor families. Almost half of these families (48 percent)

include a full-time, year-round worker. (“Full-time, year-round” work is defined as 50 or more weeks of work per year for at least 35 hours per week.) Of the 689,000 families with incomes between 100 and 200 percent of the poverty level, 80 percent—551,200—are headed by a worker.

These families include 2.2 million Texans, 1.1 million of whom are children. Low wages in many of the growth sectors of the state’s economy contribute to Texas’ large working-poor population, as do

limited public assistance benefits.

Source: http://www.cppp.org/files/8/poverty101.pdf accessed 10/5/07.

Exceptions do prove the rule.......

[lamazeteacher]

They need to look at "benefits" practises of national home health agencies......

No paid benefits were available for part time workers (we were all part time), but we could pay $325./momth, for health insurance. Prurient mind that I have, I wanted to know what healthcare benefits were included. for the amount spent. It didn't matter: the cap on healthcare expenses covered, was $1350./year!