A map (above), created by the 24/7 Wall Street website, found that in the entire Southern region of the U.S., Walmart is the primary employer in every state.
The big picture, based on 2017 figures, shows that Walmart is the dominant employer in 22 states. Over the past two decades or more, the retail giant has faced criticism for treating its employees poorly, with low wages and a lack of benefits.
The state-by-state map also revealed that in many states the highest-ranking employer is either a health care system or a university. In Michigan, the 2017 list was led by the University of Michigan, ahead of the Big Three automakers.
According to another map (below) based on Census data, manufacturing is the leading employer in hundreds of counties from the Upper Midwest down to the southern border of Mississippi and Alabama. But employment manufacturing has slowed nationwide and wages in the industrial sector have been largely stagnant for decades.
This map also shows that agriculture is the top employer in a shockingly low number of counties – not one in Michigan – which suggests the consolidation of farming into large, agri-business corporations. Only eight counties east of the Mississippi River listed agriculture as their top economic sector.
The bottom line? The U.S. unemployment rate is at its lowest point in 50 years, but the traditional industries that fueled the nation’s middle class are stumbling.
I disagree with the writer’s (Chad Selweski) “bottom line” assumption that ” . . . the traditional industries that fueled the nation’s middle class are stumbling”. Traditional industries now have significant competition from inside and outside the U.S. ANd there are new technologies and new government regulations going into effect every year that have motivated these industries to become extremely efficient. Auto manufacturers have become very focused on design, engineering, meeting legal requirements, efficient final assembly and worldwide logitics (incoming and outgoing). When looking at the industry you cannot take a parochial local view as it has become a worldwide enterprise linking countries and even competitors together in ways never imagined before. So when you are counting heads employed by a Michigan Company you have to look far beyond just their payroll count.