The Largest Employer in Each State - Tell me what trend do you see here

[LynneSin]

The Largest Employer in Each State

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/03/19/the-largest-employer-in-each-state-2/

It is essential for a state’s economy to have a diverse array of companies. Still, the impact each of the companies has on a state’s economy varies considerably.

In each state, there is one company that employs the most people. As a state’s largest employer, the company may have a disproportionately large impact on its economy as well as on the surrounding region. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from a range of sources in order to identify the largest employers in each state.

There is a large variation in the number of workers that the largest employers in each state employ. In Maine, the largest employer — Hannaford Bros. — employs only 8,000 workers. By contrast, in Texas, the largest employer — Wal-Mart — employs more than 156,000 workers.

Wal-Mart is the only company to claim the top employer spot in more than one state. In fact, the nation’s largest retailer employed the most people in 20 states.

Educational and medical institutions also frequently top a state’s list of employers. The most common largest employer across the 50 states, after Wal-Mart, was the state’s university system. Educational services dominated statewide employment in 13 of the states. The largest employer in 11 states was health care and social assistance institutions.

Click here to see the largest employer by each state - http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/03/19/the-largest-employer-in-each-state-2/2/

Anyone notice a trend when it comes to Wal-Mart?

Largest Employer in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Scary ain't it. And it's not a southern/red state thing - notice how Ohio and Illinois has crept into the list. When your largest employer in the state is handing out minimum wage, no benefit jobs then of course your state is going to have budget issues trying to make up the difference between what these people make and they need to survive.

I found it odd that New Jersey's biggest employer was Wakefern Food (Shop-rite Grocery Store). Now I have Shop-rite here in Delaware and I have been told they are a pretty decent place and will pay better than a Wal-Mart (People can build good careers with Wakefern). But still think it's scary that a state with some of the highest property taxes/cost of living in the country as a grocery-story chain as their top employer. I would have thought Rutgers would have topped that list.

I also thought it was odd that University of Pittsburgh was the bigger employer than Penn State since PSU was statewide and Pitt was more Western PA but still.

Thoughts?

[ND-Dem]

1. k&rx100

[LynneSin]

2. Looks like the Dakotas haven't been ruined yet

Both of them have a healthcare provider as top employer.

[Demeter]

3. Most distressing is the total lack of manufacturing

Outside of Connecticut (Whitney Pratt/United Technologies) and Washington State (Boeing), which are part of the Military Supply Chain (aircraft and weapons),

the list is all Health, Education, and Walmart.

I might be reconciled, if we actually had achieved a satisfactory level of Health and Education in this nation....but we haven't. Many smaller nations have achieved better and more equally-available-to-the-population results for much less cost.


The Mall of America --That's what we have become. Wally World.

[LynneSin]

5. Not even the Mall of Amercia - but the Wal-Mart of America

Mall of America at least had some decent quality jobs there.

Wal-Mart is dead end.

[Turbineguy]

10. If the GOP gets its way

Last edited Sun Mar 22, 2015, 03:22 PM - Edit history (1)

the health and education component of the economy will be ruined too.

[freshwest]

4. Thanks, I can see how it influences the culture and politics here:

Washington State's Largest Employers:

Aeronautics defense company Boeing is Washington’s top employer with 80,241 employees in the state.

Boeing has become known primarily for its commercial jets, but it is also one of the world’s largest arms producers.

Microsoft, the state’s next largest employer, had a total statewide headcount of roughly half that of Boeing’s.

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/03/19/the-largest-employer-in-each-state-2/11/

It really explains a lot...

[LynneSin]

6. It would be interesting to see how that number works out by industry

Because in Delaware #1 would be in the banking industry. You can't walk 5 feet in Wilmington without running into someone who works for a bank or related to someone who works for the bank. So we do have good paying jobs, just that it's split into many big employers.

[freshwest]

7. Are people there more likely to respect banking operations?

I don't know if the average bank worker makes that much money. But Boeing workers do very well, AFAIK. And with all the military stuff - that sort of slips out of the corner of the eyes, I guess - we have more GOP than one might think in a 'blue' state. The state itself used to be a large employer, but now it's very much reduced because of lack of revenues. We can't get through to the GOP here that we're doing long term investment in people. They just want to take the money and run. And the Libertarians demand that things be privatized for maximum profit without union workers, and little regulation. Now we have the Commons getting stolen piece by piece. The media is complicit in screwing up our democratic state, too, and conservatives just bought out the neutral media sources and shut down liberal radio.

[LynneSin]

12. They are good quality jobs here in Delaware

These aren't bank teller jobs. This is Wilmington, we are the credit card capital of america and the jobs pay well.

[ohheckyeah]

8. Walmart fills

a gap in many states in rural and small towns where there was nowhere to buy many needed items. Would it be better for a company that treats its employees better to fill that gap? Of course, but it was Wal-Mart that did so. In many areas there weren't mom and pop shops filling the need, so it could be worse.

I just don't see it as scary - many people would have to commute long distances to find work making the higher salary a moot point.

I know people that Wal-Mart has been a godsend for not only for cutting out long (read an hour or more) commutes for shopping but work.

I've lived in a number of such areas.

[LynneSin]

24. They don't fill - they exploit.

there is a big difference.

[ohheckyeah]

32. So nowhere to shop or work within a 45 mile radius

is better and filling that gap is exploitation? It sounds like you've never been in that position. Wal-Mart can only exploit me if I choose to let them do so, in the meantime I'll enjoy not spending half a day to shop for necessities. I prefer that to the ain't it awful game.

Do I love shopping at Wal-Mart? Hardly, but it does fill a need in my life along with thousands of others.

[LynneSin]

43. Here's the issue

I remember things before Wal-mart. Mind you I was only in rural Pennsylvania but I still remember that local communities had Mom&Pop stores that provided things that you needed and families ran those stores that provided good jobs and income for those who worked them. Sure we didn't have 82 thousand brands of cereal to choose from but we had the things that we needed. For my grandparents who were even more rural (I was at least 30 minutes from Harrisburg), they would just plan their day when they did need to make bigger purchases. But they managed.

When Wal-mart came around sure it was great that finally all these choices opened up to rural parts of America. I won't deny that - it was a good thing. But it basically wiped out all those Mom & Pop stores. It also destroyed American manufacturing jobs because Wal-mart was now shipping the products they bought in from China where it was cheaper instead of buying products made here in the states.

But what's worse is that as Wal-mart destroyed local businesses, Wal-mart became the only place to find a job in the area. And when they basically monopolized the job market - they could dictate the terms for how they would pay the people who worked there and they hours they worked and the benefits they made. And they pushed an America that had a strong middle class into one where more people were working lower class jobs - where the only job they could find was Wal-mart. It was a dead-end job - minimum wage, no benefits and not even full-time. So now these employees now do not have the ability to pay for housing over their head, food on the table and to raise the children they have but lucky for them Wal-Mart gets smart and teaches their employees how to apply for these services from their government. And many of those states where Wal-mart is the biggest employer -those are states with some of the worst budget crisis because their biggest Welfare recipient is Wal-mart.

All so the Walton Heirs can be worth over 100 billion dollars combined.

You think that's ok?

I like reading the NY Times Real Estate pages. It's my dream that I could afford an apartment in Manhattan. So you think it's right that a Walton Heir can buy a $23 million dollar home in NYC while the employees of her namesake store need section 8 housing just to keep a roof over their heads?

Wal-mart could easily pay their employees $10-12 an hour AND give them health benefits and the Walton Heirs would still be billionaires.

[ohheckyeah]

44. I never

insinuated that Wal-Mart couldn't pay their employees well and they should. The Waltons are greedy eastwards. The truth is Wal-Mart fills a need in many rural areas. It's not a black and white issue. Since last July I've done all my shopping online and haven't missed Wal-Mart - have missed going to Marshalls.

[LynneSin]

45. Fair enough

[anotojefiremnesuka]

9. Face it Americans like buying cheap Chinese made junk sold by non-union labor.

Personally I don't think anyone who calls them self liberal or progressive should be shopping at Wal-Mart, but I am not in charge nor do I get to make the rules either.

[peacebird]

13. We won't shop there, but our son (single income family of four) does. Says he has to buy groceries

there because they are cheaper. And diapers. Can't wait for Costco to open here, so he can buy formula there, WalMart doesn't sell the brand his baby eats.

[RKP5637]

14. Wal-Mart, last on my list. In fact, many items at Wal-Mart are not the cheapest, sometimes

it's just the propaganda Wal-Mart spreads for the masses eat up, a pricing structure to make popular items and segments cheap to lead one to believe "everything" is cheaper. I've also looked online at Wal-Mart prices, yes, sometimes they are cheaper, quite cheaper, but sometimes they are outrageous. Guess the bottom line is there is no magic genie ... except Costco maybe, I do like Costco and the reputation they have for employee treatment.

[ohheckyeah]

33. Instead we

should waste gas and time on the road driving to the nearest city? I'm to the left of Ghandi on the political scale but I'm also realistic and old enough not to worry about the opinion of black and white thinkers.

[Rybak187]

15. In Michigan

The current leader in the state has a little more than half of what GM had in Flint at its peak. At the peak GM had over 82,000 people working in flint alone and now the leader is the University of MIchigan at 45,000.

[Agschmid]

16. I'd be interested to see this ranked by wages paid out.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. Technically, the largest employer in PA is the state of PA

with nearly 80,000 state (civil service) employees (which includes teachers, etc).

Not sure if the statistics from that site bothered to look at public worker stats. But as FYI, UPMC is a non-profit NGO.

[marym625]

18. K&R!

Even more reason to keep someone that is a shill for the money changers out of the white house

[romanic]

19. It's very sad.

But I have to ask, does anyone think Wal-Mart has gotten too big to fail? I mean, if Wal-mart goes out of business, what will be left to fill in the gap in those rural and lower-income areas where people had jobs at Wally World? I doubt another chain like Target would tkae it's place. That's what scares me the most about this.

[mnhtnbb]

20. I was under the impression the UNC System was the largest employer in NC.

I can't find any consolidated data for the 17 schools in the UNC system--that isn't
at least 6 years old.

Kind of hard to believe that a system that has 220,000 students in it wouldn't need more
employees than WalMart.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

25. It makes sense

Population of NC is ~9.9 million...if even 10% of the population shops at Wal-mart, you're looking at serving nearly five times as many being served by the UNC system.

[mnhtnbb]

28. I still question these numbers.

In 2012, the State of NC (which would include the UNC System) logs
180,000-185,000 employees and ranks as the #1 State employer. WalMart comes in with 50,000 - 55,000 employees
for 2012.

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2012/12/13/top-10-largest-employers-in-north.html?s=image_gallery

Statistics can be manipulated to mean lots of things.

NC is NOT a state with no employment options other than WalMart, especially in the Research Triangle
area or Charlotte.


Not surprisingly, a local realtor has put together a web page with a lot of info about employment in NC--particularly
the Research Triangle area, and a long list of accolades about the area. http://gonetocarolina.net/area-accolades/

[SickOfTheOnePct]

29. They aren't counting state or federal employees

except for state universities.

No one has said there are not options other than Walmart.

Your own link shows that Wal-mart is #3 behind the federal and state governments, so it makes sense that the if those aren't being counted, Wal-mart would be #1.

[maindawg]

21. As the giant buildings age

And deteriorate and the business model becomes a bloated pig all consuming every lie they tell will come back to haunt them. They will bail with their billions maybe trillions rather than fret over the millions of displaced ill prepared workforce that go from struggling to survive to destitute.
The Waltons will be living on their own island afraid of the world they raped.

[mopinko]

22. i doubt walmart holds a lot of sway here in illinois.

50k jobs is not that many. we have an amazingly diverse jobs base in chicago and the collar counties. the rest of the state not so much, but...
i wish they had posted the next few numbers.

if they had looked at sectors instead of single employers, it would have been a more valid comparison. i think there are 50k jobs in higher ed in chicago alone. i am sure there are more than that in hospitals, again, right here in chicago.

so, i am meh about this comparison.

[PowerToThePeople]

23. my state has airplanes and computers

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

26. Ohio pretty much is a red state.

Sure, we may have Sherrod Brown, thanks to his very strong labour views, but just about every other state official is Republican, with just a few pockets of blue in a few large cities.

[smirkymonkey]

27. I am shocked that outside of WalMart, Universities are the largest employers in

most states. And mostly state universities. Corporations really aren't doing the heavy lifting, are they?

[goldent]

30. Walmart is the result of a trend of consolidation in retail over the last 100 years

It started with dept. stores like Sears and supermarkets like Kroger - more consolidation and less customer service. Amazon might be the next step of shrinking the space between the manufacturer and the consumer.

[mnhtnbb]

31. Just because one company may have the largest number of employees,

it doesn't mean it dominates the economy. You have to add up the rest of numbers from other employers--from
large to medium to small--to see what else is there in terms of employment opportunities.

Taking NC, I was surprised to see WalMart beat out the UNC System (of 17 schools). Those are STATE employees,
and take home decent wages as well as benefits packages. Conveniently, this array of data leaves out STATE
and FEDERAL employee counts (gee, a Wall St. group, I wonder why?). But you still have to look at the DIVERSITY
of employers in a state--and add them together in group to look at employment opportunities with decent salaries
and benefit packages.

[tularetom]

34. What blows my mind is

that the largest employer in CA is the University of California system with 200,000 employes and 238,000 students. That's 10 employees for every 12 students! Even allowing for the fact that many employees are engaged in research with no direct contact with the student population, it seems like overkill.

[GummyBearz]

36. Agreed

As an university of california alumni myself I know the pain students have been feeling with tuition hikes for the past 15 years. I also did a PhD and know that, as you pointed out, there are a lot of employees in academic research who actually bring money into the UC system via federal grants, etc. But 1 employee for every 1.2 students even surprised me... stupid bloated bureaucrats causing students to take out more loans, more debt, etc..

[tularetom]

39. Cal graduate here Class of 1966

Admittedly it's been a loooong time but I don't remember that many non-student workers around.

Just like any other bureaucracy I guess, the work expands to fit the available staff.

[JI7]

40. it would be interesting to see a breakdown of these employees

and how much they are paid .

[GummyBearz]

35. 3 cheers for wal-mart!

They are really doing a great job of helping this economy out by lowering the unemployment rate. Now the politicians can all claim how good their economic policies are, because, hey, unemployment is so low just a few years after that great recession. We are in the clear now... its all sunshine and lollipops! Thanks wal-mart!

[RoccoR5955]

37. Not in New York

The largest employer in NY is the State University system.


Oh, and Shop Rite is a union shop. Damn straight they pay better wages than Mall Wart.

[AnnieBW]

38. UPMC Healthcare is a subsidiary of University of Pittsburgh

It's one of two healthcare choices in Western PA - the other being Highmark. UPMC is freakin' HUGE. In fact, they bought out the tallest building in Pittsburgh, which formerly belonged to U.S. Steel/USX.

[fishwax]

41. wakefern is affiliated with shop-rite, but it isn't really a grocery store chain

It's a retailer's co-op, and most stores are owned by independent operators. (Wakefern does own several, but only about 10-12%.) What Wakefern does (in addition to running a few stores) is provide purchasing, distribution, marketing, and other services to all shop-rite grocery stores (as well as to some other chains). Anyway, the upshot is that I'd imagine most Wakefern jobs aren't grocery store jobs, but rather in distribution, trucking, and so on.

[LynneSin]

42. I knew it was better than just the Shop-Rite.

So that's good