Texas is the eighth-worst state in which to start a new career, study shows

Despite Gov. Greg Abbott's claims that the Texas economy is the envy of the world, a new study released Monday found that the state is among the worst for those looking to start a career.

The study published by Plus AI — a California-based self-driving truck company — compiled information from all 50 states including their average unemployment rates, per capita income and formal discrimination complaints per 100,00 people. Each state was given an aggregate score out of 100, and Texas pulled a sad 40.59.

Based on that score, Texas ranked as the eighth-worst state for those looking to start a career.

Picking apart the numbers, the Lone Star State has the 18th-lowest income per capita, according to the study. Workers here earned an average of $38,123 annually in 2022 when adjusted for inflation.

Texas also has 67.42 discrimination receipts per 100,000 people — the nation's 14th-highest total. It also tied with Delaware and West Virginia for having the 10th-highest unemployment at 3.95%.

“This study looked at which states would be the worst in which to start a new career, based on factors that we believed to be important to consider in this scenario," Plus AI CEO Daniel Li said in a statement.

“The unemployment rate highlights how difficult it might be to find a new job in that state to begin with, while the amount of discrimination receipts issued shows how much attention companies have received from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission," Li added.

Georgia, the second worst state for new careers, leads the nation in discrimination receipts with 126.2 per 100,000 people. Though Georgia had a higher rate of discrimination, Texas leads the country with the highest raw number of discrimination cases with 20,556 compared to Georgia's 13,919, according to the report.

The study named Nevada, which scored a paltry 21.28, as the worst state for starting a new career. The Silver State had the highest average unemployment rate at 5.1% and the fifth-most discrimination receipts with 93.45 per 100,000 people.

Arkansas, Illinois and Mississippi round out the study's five worst states, scoring 32.68, 32.83 and 35.11 respectively. Mississippi has the lowest per capita income in the country at $29,045.

On the flip side, Plus AI's report names New Hampshire, which scored 89.64, as the best state to start a new career. That New England state has the nation's fifth-highest per capita income at $49,281. It also has the fourth-lowest unemployment rate at 2.25%.

Vermont came in as the second best state, tying with North Dakota for the lowest unemployment rate at 1.95%. In respective order, Massachusetts, North Dakota and Connecticut round out the five best states in which to embark a new career.

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