NEW YORK – A national survey that looked at worker moods on state economies found that Michigan was tied for third place in terms of having a good job market.
The survey, conducted through 2014 by the Gallup organization, found Michigan tied with Utah and Iowa as third in terms of states with the best job markets in the nation. North Dakota ranked the highest, with Wisconsin, Texas and Nebraska tied for second best job market.
Connecticut ranked last with what workers in the state considered the worst job market in the nation.
The survey was based on interviews with more than 200,000 full- and part-time workers nationwide (and a total of 5,249 in Michigan) conducted throughout 2014. Workers were asked questions about their employers and whether they were hiring. The survey has been conducted for seven consecutive years.
The survey found that in 2014, workers in all the states said they were seeing hiring, though it was weakest in areas like New England.
In Michigan, the survey found that 42 percent of the workers interviewed said their companies were hiring, 41 percent said their companies had no changes planned and 12 percent said their companies were laying workers off.
In North Dakota, 48 percent of those surveyed said their companies were hiring, 35 percent said they saw no changes and 12 percent said their firms were laying workers off.
And in Connecticut, 33 percent said their companies were hiring, 43 percent said there was no change and 17 percent said their firms were laying off workers.
Gallup said Michigan’s top position was one of the more striking items in the survey, since when the first surveys were conducted in 2008 and 2009 the state ranked near the bottom in terms of job markets.
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