Which States Will Generate Jobs in 2014? "A Breakout Year"
By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline Staff Writer
After four years of a fragile and uneven recovery, the U.S. job machine is likely to kick into high gear in 2014. Even recession-battered states such as Arizona and Florida are expected to generate jobs at a healthier clip.
Photograph, Seattle Municipal Archives
Overall, the U.S. economy is projected to generate 2.6 million jobs in 2014 year, up from 2.2 million last year, largely on the strength of the country’s booming health care, energy and high-tech sectors.
Nearly 572,000 of the new jobs will be added in just two states, Texas and California, according to Moody’s Analytics, a global economic forecasting company. Florida will add 176,000 jobs, while Arizona is expected to add 77,000, Moody’s estimates.
"No question about it, the economy and creating jobs will be priority number one for states across the country in 2014," said Sujit M. CanagaRetna, senior fiscal analyst at the Council of State Governments.
CanagaRetna said economic growth, particularly job creation, has been less robust than in other post-recessionary periods. "There is enormous pressure on state policymakers — further complicated by the fact that 2014 is an election year — to create a suitable environment for sustained, solid job growth,” he said.
As an example, in more than a dozen states, elected officials from both parties scrambled with incentives to attract the production facility for Boeing’s new 777X jet, which is expected to employ as many as 8,000 workers. The competition ended when workers at Boeing recently approved the labor contract, ensuring Boeing will keep those jobs in Washington.
Even as the US economy gathers steam, state lawmakers may be under increasing pressure to do more to help the nearly 11 million Americans who are still unemployed. Republicans likely will continue to press for tax cuts as a way to create jobs, while Democrats will try to boost job training and education programs and push for increases in the minimum wage.
Outlook Best in West, South
As 2013 ended, the country had regained about 85 percent of the 9 million jobs lost during the recession, creating around 200,000 new jobs a month. The national unemployment rate stood at its lowest rate in five years, at 7 percent, down from a 10 percent peak in October 2009.
From its highest to lowest point, the US economy lost 8.74 million jobs during the recession. Since employment bottomed out in early 2010, jobs have risen by 7.45 million. Moody’s expects employment to return to its previous peak in mid-2014.
The job outlook is particularly rosy for states in the West: Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho and Utah are five of the 10 states Moody's expects to have the highest growth rates. Steady home construction, robust investment in high tech and the aerospace industry, and trade with Asia are the reasons why.
More Articles
- Jo Freeman Writes: Kennedy vs. Trump at the Libertarian National Convention
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System: Something’s Got to Give by Governor Christopher J. Waller
- Department of Labor Awards $5M to Train, Expand Pathways for Women for Registered Apprenticeships, Nontraditional Occupations
- Selective Exposure and Partisan Echo Chambers in Television News Consumption: Innovative Use of Data Yields Unprecedented Insights
- February’s Hot Data Releases: Governor Christopher J. Waller, Federal Reserve Board Frames a Few of the Issues Around Inflation and the Economic Outlook
- Jo Freeman Reviews Thank You For Your Servitude: Donald Trump's Washington and the Price of Submission
- Remarks by President Biden on American Rescue Plan Investments; September 02, 2022, South Court Auditorium Eisenhower Executive Office Building
- The US Housing and Mortgage Market, Risks and Resilience: Federal Reserve Governor Michelle W. Bowman
- Voting Rights: Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke Testifies Before the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing; “One of the most monumental laws in the entire history of American freedom”
- Journalist's Resource: Religious Exemptions and Required Vaccines; Examining the Research