Where have all the workers gone? The question is plaguing everyone from business owners to policymakers to consumers.
With many more job openings in the U.S. than there are people available to fill them, companies are increasingly deciding where to set up shop based on where the workers are.
“The states that have continued to win with net inward migration are the ones that companies really are dialed in on,” said Tom Stringer, a principal and manager of BDO’s site selection and incentive practice.
It is why CNBC’s 2023 America’s Top States for Business study, which scores all 50 states’ business climates, pays special attention to each state’s workforce. Under this year’s methodology, the Workforce category carries the most weight among ten categories of competitiveness. North Carolina ranked No. 1 overall in that category.
As the Tar Heel State’s economy grows and broadens, it is attracting scores of talented workers. The state is also doing a solid job of retraining its existing workforce. More than 89% of participants in state workforce development programs are employed within six months. That is the third-best rate in the country. North Carolina’s strong net migration, amount of adults with bachelor’s degrees or higher, and percentage of workers in the STEM industries also contributed to its ranking.
To determine the states with America’s top workforces, CNBC considered the overall availability of workers. They looked at net migration of college educated workers, educational attainment of the workforce, the concentration of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) talent, as well as workers with industry-recognized certificates and the pipeline of students in career education programs. They also evaluated state worker training programs, and considered right-to-work laws that protect employees who decline to join a union. Worker productivity in terms of economic output per job was also a factor.
Read more about the rankings here.
