Does Right-to-Work create jobs?
Right-to-Work is a proven job creator. From 2001 to 2006, right-to-work states had an average unemployment rate that was .3 percent lower than the average for non-right-to-work states. But unemployment rates only tell half the story — unemployment rates can be thrown off as workers give up on finding jobs or move from state to state looking for work. In terms of job creation, however, right-to-work states have a big advantage. Between 2001 and 2006 the average right-to-work state increased payrolls by 6.4 percent compared to only 2.9 percent — less than half — for non right-to-work states. That’s not to say that right-to-work states never have slumps; right-to-work didn’t prevent Louisiana and Mississippi from losing jobs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. But over the long haul it’s not even close: right-to-work states create more jobs than non-right-to-work states like Michigan.
