(2Q-2022) States without an income tax led the Southeast and Arkansas’ border region in jobs creation in the first two years of the national economic expansion that began in April 2020, Bureau of Labor Statistics records show.

Florida led the 12-state Southeast region in jobs creation between April 2020 and April 2022, the most recent month reported by the BLS.

State	Growth Rate
Florida	19.2%
Georgia	17.6%
Kentucky	16.8%
North Carolina	16.4%
South Carolina	16.2%
Tennessee	15.7%
Mississippi	14.1%
West Virginia	13.7%
Arkansas	12.25%
Alabama	12.1%
Virginia	11.77%
Louisiana	11.73%

Florida does not have a state income tax.

Tennessee and same period.	Texas led the six state region that borders Arkansas in the
Tennessee	15.7%
Texas	15.3%
Mississippi	14.1%
Missouri	13.0%
Arkansas	12.25%
Louisiana	11.7%
Oklahoma	9.3%

Tennessee and Texas do not have a state income tax.

Nonfarm payroll employment measures jobs creation at the national, state and local levels. The employment data is reported monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Payroll employment’s role in determining the economy’s position in the national business cycle is discussed in the enclosed article from Talk Business.

–Greg Kaza