Skip navigation

Current DateTime: 08:06:14 30 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24355697
  • The Cost of True Love

      In the popular holiday song "The 12 Days of Christmas," the cost of gifts - from the 12 drummers drumming to a partridge in a pear tree - is quite pricey.

  • Runway Angels

      The superbowl of fashion shows, models walk down the runway at the 2009 Victoria's Secret Show.

  • Smartphone Guide

      Here's a need-to-know guide to nine devices, based on features, price, network and platform.

FEATURED QUIZZES


Current DateTime: 08:06:14 30 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33793611
  • How Well Do You Know Your Bird?

      Let's talk turkey. Test your turkey knowledge and perhaps pick up a bit of trivia to trot out at your holiday meal.

  • A Healthier & Wealthier You

      Take the following quiz and find out how much you know about the impact of obesity on the health of the U.S. economy.

  • The Billionaire BFF's

      Philanthropists. Bridge partners. Hockey players. Which responses are based on facts from Buffett's and Gates' real lives?


Current DateTime: 08:06:14 30 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24890560
  • Holiday Central

      There are plenty of reasons to believe that this Christmas holiday season will not be as bad for retailers as last year.

  • Winterizing Your Portfolio

      If 2009 was the winter of our discontent, will 2010 be a winter wonderland for investors? A lot depends on the recovery—or lack thereof.

  • Investor's Guide to Real Estate

      Some even say the long-awaited recovery is here. Regardless, buyers and sellers alike can profit from our guide.

powered by digg
CNBC's Top States For Business 2009: West Leads In Economy Category
By: CNBC.com | 23 Jul 2009 | 02:25 PM ET
Text Size

If the economy in your state has got you down, and the 2009 findings of CNBC’s top states for business are any guide, our advice takes a page out of the past: “Go West, Young Man” (or Woman).

Nine out of the top ten states in the economy category are west of the Mississippi River and the exception happens to be the overall winner this year.

So, if you like the Midwest or the Great Plains, then you’re likely to find a state with a high ranking.

That’s largely because their unemployment rates are significantly below the national average of 9.5 percent in June.

Texas nabbed the top spot for the second year in a row, while Oklahoma also held on to its 2008 ranking (3). Wyoming finished 2nd.

Iowa, where the jobless rate was 6.2 percent in June, leapfrogged half of all states to secure the No. 4 spot, having finished 29 last yearKansas (6/21), Nebraska (7/28) and Minnesota (9/27) also showed impressive improvement.

In all, only four top states from 2008 repeated in 2009. Among those, Wyoming was No. 2 after finishing 6th last year, while Montana tied for 9th after nabbing the 10th spot a year ago.

Rounding out the top ten were Colorado (5) and Virginia (7-tie).

Six states from last year fell precipitously in the rankings: Arizona (33/8), New Mexico (32/8) Idaho (30/5), New York (20/2), Utah (14/3) and California (12/7).

Not surprisingly, the states with the highest jobless rates fared the worst in the rankings. North Carolina (42), Florida (43), Kentucky (44), Michigan (45), Indiana (46), South Carolina (47), Nevada (49) and Rhode Island (50) all had double-digit rates in June.

Delaware (41) and Alaska (47) are the other bottom-ten members but both have unemployment rates under 10 percent.

On the positive side, three of the worst performing states last year jumped the charts in 2009: West Virginia went to 11 from 46; New Hampshire (14/41) and Vermont (17/42); all have jobless rates well below the national average.

We don’t rank Washington, D.C. in our survey, but in case you’re wondering about the place trying to do something about the weak economy and rising unemployment the jobless rate there was 10.9 percent in June.

© 2009 CNBC.com
Tools:
Print EmailAdd This share icon
  • digg share

CNBC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Ever wished your cab driver would stop chatting and just get to where you're going? Well, that moment is closer than ever.
  • With Americans cutting back on spending, holiday tipping will take another hit this year.
  • T shirt man
  • From the why-didn’t-I-think-of-that file, we present Jason Sadler, a man whose job is wearing T-shirts.
  • Shopping for a gadget hound? The choices can be baffling. Here are a few that should be a hit.
  • "The Who" will be the halftime act for Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7 in Miami. Is the NFL behind the times?
  • Zhu Zhu Pets are this year's must-have toy, fetching $40 or more on eBay.
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 05:12:25 30 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 01:03:52 30 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 01:07:47 30 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 07:18:37 30 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters