States with the worst worker shortages

America is facing a worker shortage crisis: There are too many open jobs without people to fill them. The interactive map below shows which states are suffering the most from a labor shortage by comparing their Worker Shortage Index ratios.

The 13 states most affected by labor shortages, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are Alabama, Arkansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Vermont.

Contrast this with Texas, Texas has 89 available workers for every 100 open jobs, with 846,000 job openings and 609,845 unemployed workers. It falls into the “Least Severe” category in the Worker Shortage Index.

Other states, while growing, are losing out on the scarce labor resource to the states where the opportunities are easier and more plentiful.

Source: newsweek.com©