State work environments ranked

An AP story yesterday reported on a study by the University of Massachussetts Amherst's Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) that ranked states on a "work environment index" for job opportunities, job quality, and workplace fairness. Based on 2004 data, states were compared on such factors as average pay, employee benefits, percentage of low-income workers, and ability to unionize. The top five states were Delaware, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Vermont, and Iowa. Massachusetts and Hawaii tied at 18-19. The study's authors said their findings were based on states' treatment of workers rather than their business climates.

Decent Work in America
    Full report (PDF, 2.2MB, 15p.)
    Summary (HTML)
    Both from PERI