Well in the rankings business, it is;
“Most states point with great pride to the quality and availability of their workers, as well as government-sponsored programs to train them,†CNBC’s report said.
It rated states based on:
- The education level of their workforce.
- The number of available employees.
- The states’ demonstrated ability to retain college-educated workers.
- The concentration of STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — workers, increasingly in demand by business.
“We measure workforce productivity based on each state’s economic output per job,†it continued. “We look at the relative success of each state’s worker training programs in placing their participants in jobs. We also consider union membership and the states’ right-to-work laws. While organized labor contends that a union workforce is a quality workforce, that argument, more often than not, does not resonate with business.â€
South Dakota ranked a somewhat concerning No. 39 in this category. It can’t be based on productivity, which is always strong, so I’m guessing our low unemployment and potentially comparatively low educational attainment might have hurt us.
I truly think more organized labor will turn these numbers around.