Jerry Brown ranked high among U.S. governors for job creation

A new national survey ranked California Gov. Jerry Brown at No. 10 among U.S. governors for private-sector job creation since he took office in 2011.

In its ranking, On Numbers, a blog from the American City Business Journals, noted that under Brown’s leadership, the state has added 622,000 private sector jobs for an annual growth rate of 2.3%.

The rankings are based on seasonally adjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists have noted that a governor’s job creation record is sometimes the consequence of factors outside their control. In North Dakota, for instance, the state has benefited from a large oil boom.

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Nonetheless, the list places Brown at No. 10 compared with 44 other governors. The total is only 45 because five governors who took office earlier this year were excluded from the national survey.

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple claimed the top spot, adding 56,600 private sector jobs for a growth rate of 7.32%. The state has the lowest unemployment rate, 3.2%, in the country and has struggled to recruit workers willing to relocate.

The next top governors hailed from Texas, Utah, Tennessee and Louisiana.

The bottom five states are: Wisconsin (No. 40), Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maine, New Mexico and Wyoming, which ranked last.

Wyoming’s governor, Matthew Mead, has seen his state add 4,000 private sector jobs, for a total growth rate of 0.81%.

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ricardo.lopez@latimes.com