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Investing

Work Hard and Strike Oil

Photo of Paul Ausick
By Paul Ausick Published

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Research firm IHS Global Insight reports new data showing that four states — Alaska, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Texas — have or will soon post unemployment rates equal to or better than those they enjoyed before the Great Recession. A total of 16 states will have unemployment rates better than or equal to pre-recession rates by the end of 2013, and all but 6 states will be fully recovered by 2015.

What do Alaska, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Texas have in common? Oil, and lots of it compared with the rest of the country. And except for Texas, the four states also have small populations. Texas makes up for having a large population by having low wages when compared with other big states.

The title of this article is the answer J. Paul Getty is reported to have given to this question: “What’s the secret to success?” Still good advice.

Paul Ausick

The New York Times Economix blog posted the following chart from the IHS Global Insight report:

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

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