Rory Doyle | AFP | Getty Images There’s perhaps no better place to beat inflation than Mississippi, which offers the lowest cost of living in the nation. But workers aren’t exactly tapping their feet to get there. With one of America’s least educated and least productive workforces and one of the worst rates of worker immigration, according to Census data, Mississippi finishes at the bottom of CNBC’s annual competitiveness rankings. Greg Howell, manager at Magnolia Diesel in West Point, Mississippi, knows firsthand about the talent shortage in his state. He is looking for two diesel mechanics at his garage about 45 miles south of Tupelo. But he said the applications he has received so far are not impressive. “You might let them inflate your bike tire. But finding good quality people who want to work is pretty impossible right now,” Howell said. In Mississippi, the diesel mechanic job pays, on average, about $22 an hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the higher the skills, the higher the salary. Still, there were no takers for the Tupelo area positions. “A good engineer isn’t looking for a job right now,” Howell said.
More coverage of America’s top states for business in 2022
The situation for business owners is even worse when it comes to those looking for workers with advanced technical skills. Mississippi has the lowest concentration of so-called STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — workers in the nation. Only about 3 percent of Mississippi workers are employed in these high-demand fields, according to BLS data. About 23 percent of Mississippi workers have a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the Census Bureau, making the state’s workforce the second least educated in the nation, behind only West Virginia. Overall, Mississippi’s workforce is also the nation’s least productive, as measured by economic output per job. It leaves the state at 47th in the Workforce category, the most important in this year’s rankings as companies face historic worker shortages. Improving the state’s workforce has been a priority for first-term Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican. The state’s revamped workforce development agency, Accelerate Mississippi, is committed to doing just that by seeking to better connect workers with employers. “We’ve been able to streamline our workforce development efforts to ensure we have a clear strategy — one that will meet the needs of employers and fill vacancies for jobs that offer above-average salaries,” he said. Reeves in his annual State of the Union address. in January. Mississippi Republican Governor Tate Reeves finishes signing the bill retiring the last state flag in the United States with the Confederate battle emblem, during a ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Mississippi, U.S., June 30, 2020. Applause from left House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton; Reuben Anderson, former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice; Lt. Gen. Delbert Hosemann; and Transportation Commissioner for the Central Region Willie Simmons. Rogelio V. Solis | Reuters The program shows results. Mississippi now has one of the best records in the nation for attracting workers from its job training programs, according to U.S. Department of Labor data. For his part, Howell believes the state is doing what it can to develop and place workers, even helping to pay interns’ wages through a local community college. “What this school does, I think, is above and beyond,” he said. “I mean, they’re paying for students to work here. I don’t know what else you’d ask a school to do.” But, he said, new hires don’t tend to stay long, which he blames “on all that incentive money.” “Everybody’s done, they’re used to it and they don’t want to work now,” he said. Regardless, Mississippi’s new successes in training workers don’t make up for the many weaknesses in the state’s workforce, which Reeves acknowledged is a work in progress. “Doing things the right way to build a pool of skilled labor takes time,” he said. Mississippi also does poorly in the Education category, another Reeves priority, finishing No. 46. Although test scores are improving, they remain low, according to U.S. Department of Education data. And the state is lagging behind in funding both K-12 and higher education. Mississippi finishes last in Business Friendliness, thanks to a judicial system consistently ranked among the worst for business by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. In the remaining categories, the state ranks No. 49 in Economy and No. 48 in Technology and Innovation.
Discriminatory laws hurt the state’s ranking
This year’s worst-performing state offers a mixed bag in Living, Health and Inclusion, another important category in 2022 and a key factor in attracting workers. While crime rates are low, air quality is high, and affordable childcare options are plentiful, Mississippi’s legendary southern hospitality isn’t always applied evenly. Mississippi is one of five states that does not have a statewide anti-discrimination law protecting people without disabilities, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Patricia Cole receives a shot of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccination from a physician at a pop-up clinic operated by Delta Health Center in this rural Delta community on April 27, 2021 in Hollandale, Mississippi. Spencer Platt | Getty Images In 2021, Reeves signed into law the Mississippi Fairness Act banning transgender girls from competing in school sports. The governor said the law was necessary to address the Biden administration’s policy of “encouraging transgenderism among our youth.” The National Center for Transgender Equality called the law “unfair and discriminatory.” Mississippi’s election laws are consistently among the most restrictive in the country, according to researchers at Northern Illinois University. It is one of the only states that does not allow early voting, and voters can vote absentee in person before Election Day, but the practice is subject to strict restrictions. An anti-abortion protester tries to talk to a patient on the other side of the fence outside the Jackson Women’s Health Organization clinic, May 3, 2022. Andrea Morales | The Washington Post | Getty Images Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy was the subject of a landmark Supreme Court decision in June that overturned Roe v. Wade. Some groups have argued that state abortion bans are bad for business because they will deter workers. But because many state laws are still in flux and the business community has yet to reach some kind of consensus on the issue, abortion laws are not considered in this year’s rankings.
Low prices in a period of high inflation
Mississippi’s bright spot, year after year, is its low cost. And this fact becomes more important as inflation soars. The Magnolia State offers the lowest cost of living of any state, according to the Community and Economic Research Council, which tracks prices nationally. A four-bedroom single-family home in Jackson cost about $267,000 last year, researchers found. This is almost 30% below the national average. An abandoned house in Wisner, Mississippi. Barry Lewis | In pictures | Getty Images And workers just got a big tax break. The state’s largest tax cut ever began to phase in on July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. When fully implemented in three years, residents will pay a flat tax of 4% on income over $4,000 a year. For businesses, the state offers the lowest wage costs in the country. The average hourly wage was $20.53 last year, according to the Labor Department. And rent for office and industrial space is dirt cheap. With so many other weaknesses, however, it’s fair to ask whether you’re getting what you pay for in America’s bottom state for business in 2022. Where does your state rank? Check out the full list and let us know what you think by posting on social media with the hashtag #TopStates.
