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Ten states with the fastest job growth in 2016

The United States is experiencing the longest period of consecutive month-to-month job growth in its history, but there are a few states that stand out in the crowd.  Kiplinger has ranked the ten states  expected to experience the fastest rates of job growth in 2016. Can you guess which one tops the chart?

10. California

Mike Blake/Reuters/File
A Chevron gas station sign in Cardiff, Calif. Chevron is the wealthiest company headquartered in the state, worth approximately $212 billion.

Population: 39,145,000

2016 job growth: 2.7 percent

New jobs in 2016: 433,400

Unemployment rate by year-end 2016: 5.6 percent

Largest company in state: Chevron

If ranked as its own country, California would be the 7th largest economy in the world. The golden state had a 2014 GDP of $2.312 trillion, following Latin American giant Brazil. Even at its massive size, California is still among the top ten states for fastest job growth. California offers a booming tech industry encouraging expansion, especially by IT companies within the state.

According to WalletHub, California also ranks number one in terms of venture capital invested in the state, tying with Massachusetts and New York. Though the rate of expansion may cool in the next year, California is still expected to outpace the nation through 2020 in terms of economic growth. According to Kiplinger, you can look for expansion from companies like Amazon, LeEco, and Cerebain Biotech in the Golden State.

The United States continues in one of the longest stretches of consecutive month-to-month job growth in its history - 75 months, to be exact - with the total number of jobs added reaching 14.5 million since the Great Recession. And an underwhelming May jobs report doesn’t have many economists worried. “It seems that the problem with the jobs market is hiring new employees that are suitable for available positions, which in itself is a sign of labor market tightness,” John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics, told Reuters.

Kiplinger’s ranking of projected job growth does not factor in the number of jobs being created, as the top spots would then go to more populous states, no matter their real rate of job growth. Instead, the numbers are solely projected job growth rates for 2016.

As a general trend, most states will see a decrease in unemployment in the next year, but a few stand out of the crowd with the highest job growth rates. These states have surpassed the national average of 1.8 percent growth with numbers between 2.7 percent and 3.5 percent.

Many of the states on this list are in the Western and Southern regions of the United States, which is also where the US is seeing heavier increases in population, according to US Census Bureau data. Seems the saying, “Go West, young man,” still stands.

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Mark Sappenfield
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