Michigan led the country in improvement in Gallup's Job Creation Index between 2009 and 2010.Michigan led all states when it came to the most improvement in job market conditions between 2009 and 2010, according
with a 20 point increase that reflected an improvement in the manufacturing sector.
However, North Dakota kept its place atop the states with the best job market, followed by the District of Columbia, South Dakota, Alaska, Arkansas, West Virginia, Maryland, Texas Okalhoma, Iowa and Pennsylvania.
The worst job markets last year were in Nevada, New Jersey, California, Oregon, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Idaho, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine and New York. Notice that Michigan is no longer on that list.
More than half of the 10 best job markets in 2010 were in energy- and commodity-producing states, while the finance states of the Northeast and housing-depressed states of the West had the worst job markets. An increase in manufacturing activity helped improve job markets in the Midwest.
According to Gallup's analysis, the 2011 job market will be similar to last year's, but what is really needed to improve the job market is economic growth and job creation — "something sorely lacking over the past three years."