The recent meltdown in the commodities market may be hurting commodities investors across the board, but as far as state’s are concerned, the pain is being felt in some places much more than others.
States where a large percentage of the economy is based on energy, mining and agriculture are being hurt more than states like New Jersey or Massachusetts, where the economy is not dependent on the production of these raw materials, according to the Bloomberg Commodity Index.
Commodities markets hit a 13-year low this summer and plunged 61 percent from the peak in 2008, Bloomberg says. Jobs have been reduced by about 50,000 a month because of the disaster in the commodities market.
The more a state is dependent on commodities, the more the economy is now at risk and state budgets in many of these states are reflecting this. In ascending order, the following are the 10 states that are most dependent on energy, mining and agriculture. Each has nearly 10 percent (and some have much more) of its economy dependent on commodities, and the one hit the worst has a whooping 36 percent of its economy dependent on these three commodities.
No.10 Montana
Montana has 9.8 percent of its economy invested in the three main commodities sectors.
No. 9 Louisiana
Louisiana has significant ties to the oil and gas industries.
No. 8 South Dakota
Corn, soy beans and wheat make up a large part of South Dakota’s economy.
No. 7 New Mexico
More than 12 percent of the state’s economy depends on energy, mining and agriculture.
No. 6 Texas
With its significant investment in oil, Texas is one of the hardest hit states.
No. 5 Oklahoma
More than 16 percent of its economy is tied to the three major commodities sectors.
No. 4 West Virginia
This state lost nearly 4,500 jobs in June and is heavily involved in energy and agriculture.
No. 3 North Dakota
21.2 percent of its economy is tied to energy, mining and agriculture.
No. 2 Alaska
The last frontier lost nearly 4,000 jobs in June and is heavily involved in energy and agriculture.
No. 1 Wyoming
Wyoming has the most top producing coal mines in the nation and a total of 36 percent of its economy in energy, mining and agriculture.