A U.S. Labor Department news release issued at the end of last week showed that the number of civilian household jobs (a broad measure that includes the self-employed and contractors as well as workers on employer payrolls) grew by an average of just 0.7% in the 12 Midwestern states last year. (See the two links below for more information.)
However, on average household job growth was substantially greater in the seven Midwestern states with Right to Work laws on the books than it was in the five states in the region that still lack such statutes. In Midwestern Right to Work states, employment grew by 1.0% in the aggregate, more than double the anemic 0.4% gain for the region’s forced-unionism states.
The two Midwestern states that have most recently adopted Right to Work statutes both performed relatively well. Right to Work Michigan, whose ban on forced union dues and fees took effect in March 2013, chalked up a 1.2% increase in household jobs as its total employment rose from 4.244 million to 4.294 million. Right to Work Indiana, which adopted its law in February 2012, expanded its civilian employment from 2.912 million to 2.941 million, or 1.0%.
Since many unionized employers in Michigan and Indiana are still operating under “grandfathered” forced-unionism contracts adopted before the states’ Right to Work laws were respectively approved, the full impact of the laws obviously isn’t being felt yet. But the evidence indicates that the two statutes are already facilitating job and income growth, in addition to protecting employee freedom in more and more workplaces over time.
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