How Many Jobs Will the Obama Administration's Ozone Rule Kill in Your State?
Today, the national unemployment rate stands at a painful 9.6 percent. Unfortunately, reports indicate that the Obama administration, through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will soon finalize a new job-killing environmental regulation. Earlier this year, the EPA proposed lowering the limit from the current 75 parts per billion (ppb) standard to 60 ppb. Currently, as many as 675 counties across the U.S. would violate the proposed standard—triggering job-killing mandates, new costs, new permitting requirements, and financial penalties for operations in those areas.
The economic impact of such an arbitrary federal rule would be dramatic and amount to a backdoor national energy tax promulgated by the EPA. According to a National Association of Manufacturers study, the proposed 60 ppb ozone standard would lead to a total of $1 trillion in annual compliance costs and 7.3 million jobs lost. The chart below indicates how the states would fare if the EPA’s job-killing regulation gets implemented:
State | Current Unemployment Rate | Current Number of Unemployed Job-Seekers | New Jobs Lost to Ozone Rule | Total State Energy Tax (Cost and GDP Reduction) |
Alabama | 9.2 percent | 192,825 | 75,918 | $14.7 Billion |
Alaska | 7.7 percent | 28,000 | 87,794 | $22.1 Billion |
Arizona | 9.7 percent | 309,020 | 22,396 | $1 Billion |
Arkansas | 7.5 percent | 100,966 | 44,369 | $7.5 Billion |
California | 12.4 percent | 2,261,451 | 846,108 | $210.3 Billion |
Colorado | 8.2 percent | 216,509 | 47,309 | $8.5 Billion |
Connecticut | 9.1 percent | 171,387 | 37,026 | $3.7 Billion |
Delaware | 8.4 percent | 35,296 | (1,047) | ($3.5 Billion) |
Florida | 11.7 percent | 1,083,718 | 47,769 | $5.8 Billion |
Georgia | 10 percent | 466,930 | 59,621 | $8 Billion |
Hawaii | 6.4 percent | 40,922 | 38,229 | $8.1 Billion |
Idaho | 8.9 percent | 67,292 | (52) | ($3.3 Billion) |
Illinois | 10.1 percent | 671,411 | 396,332 | $98.1 Billion |
Indiana | 10.2 percent | 317,720 | 223,399 | $51.3 Billion |
Iowa | 6.8 percent | 114,243 | 35,939 | $3.5 Billion |
Kansas | 6.6 percent | 97,898 | 121,711 | $29.2 Billion |
Kentucky | 10 percent | 205,938 | 109,443 | $24.2 Billion |
Louisiana | 7.6 percent | 158,914 | 983,833 | $269.7 Billion |
Maine | 8 percent | 55,439 | 407 | ($3.2 Billion) |
Maryland | 7.3 percent | 216,591 | 15,606 | ($0.3 Billion) |
Massachusetts | 8.8 percent | 304,439 | 46,338 | $5.5 Billion |
Michigan | 13.1 percent | 634,420 | 122,108 | $23 Billion |
Minnesota | 7 percent | 207,476 | 166,596 | $39.7 Billion |
Mississippi | 10 percent | 207,476 | 129,976 | $32.2 Billion |
Missouri | 9.3 percent | 275,540 | 42,014 | $4.7 Billion |
Montana | 7.4 percent | 36,758 | 51,387 | $11.8 Billion |
Nebraska | 4.6 percent | 45,262 | 7,253 | ($1.9 Billion) |
Nevada | 14.4 percent | 1,157,061 | 2,263 | ($2.7 Billion) |
New Hampshire | 5.7 percent | 42,290 | 2,011 | ($2.9 Billion) |
New Jersey | 9.6 percent | 434,571 | 72,757 | $11.7 Billion |
New Mexico | 8.3 percent | 78,776 | 40,065 | $8 Billion |
New York | 8.3 percent | 801,441 | 100,129 | $15.7 Billion |
North Carolina | 9.7 percent | 437,633 | 113,950 | $18.3 Billion |
North Dakota | 3.7 percent | 13,614 | 13,892 | $1 Billion |
Ohio | 10.1 percent | 601,326 | 296,952 | $69.2 Billion |
Oklahoma | 7 percent | 122,483 | 177,003 | $45.2 Billion |
Oregon | 10.6 percent | 208,696 | 39,121 | $4.1 Billion |
Pennsylvania | 9.2 percent | 584,897 | 351,207 | $85.8 Billion |
Rhode Island | 11.8 percent | 67,465 | (916) | ($3.5 Billion) |
South Carolina | 11 percent | 236,649 | 31,242 | $2.6 Billion |
South Dakota | 4.5 percent | 19,799 | (2,661) | ($3.8 Billion) |
Tennessee | 9.6 percent | 291,305 | 108,953 | $22.4 Billion |
Texas | 8.3 percent | 1,004,388 | 1,690,205 | $452.2 Billion |
Utah | 7.4 percent | 100,496 | 60,860 | $12.8 Billion |
Vermont | 6 percent | 21,298 | (3,656) | ($4 Billion) |
Virginia | 7 percent | 289,865 | 66,058 | $11.2 Billion |
Washington | 8.9 percent | 315,791 | 234,055 | $59 Billion |
West Virginia | 8.8 percent | 68,242 | 8,639 | ($1.1 Billion) |
Wisconsin | 7.9 percent | 239,146 | 78,647 | $12.6 Billion |
Wyoming | 6.8 percent | 19,817 | 46,451 | $10.4 Billion |
The EPA’s proposed ozone rule would discourage new businesses from locating to many areas of the U.S. and would restrict the growth of existing businesses. The Obama administration’s proposed backdoor national energy would kill jobs and raise costs at a time when the U.S. economy can least afford it—and it ought to be opposed.
For additional information, contact:
The House Republican Conference Policy Office
