Michigan lands in last place in study ranking "hardest working" states
Michigan comes in last place in a ranking of states by "hardest working" population data, according to a new WalletHub report.
Despite Michigan's history of factory work and the automotive industry, the percentage of those aged 16 and older in the workforce helped pull down Michigan's overall ranking in a formula that uses data from government and nonprofit organizations. The data compiled came from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Travel Association, Gallup, The Annie E. Casey Foundation and AmeriCorps.
WalletHub's ranking, published on Monday, includes average workweek hours, share of workers who leave vacation time unused, average commute time, share of workers with multiple jobs and annual volunteer hours per person.
The "hardest working" residents in the U.S. were said to be in South Dakota, where workers are more likely than in most areas to have multiple jobs; North Dakota, where overall employment numbers are high; and Alaska, where the average workweek is 41.4 hours a week, more than any other state.
"It's undeniable that America has fostered a culture of hard work, with people working longer hours than residents of other developed countries and often leaving vacation time on the table," Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst, said.
Michigan ranked the lowest in employment by population when the WalletHub numbers were calculated. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Michigan had 59.5% of its adult population in the workforce in June. That percentage has ranged between 56.7% and 61.9% over the past 10 years, according to BLS charts.
