Edition 68, June 2009

Occupational licensing in the United States

Have you ever wondered about how the level of occupational licensing in Australia compares to elsewhere in the world? Well, the following report by the Reason Foundation sheds some light on how things are done in the United States

The 2007 report titled Occupational Licensing: Ranking the States and Exploring Alternatives gives a detailed breakdown of the occupations which are licensed in every state of America.

It highlights some of the unusual licenses across the states such as the fortune teller licence in Maryland or the hair braiding licence in Mississippi which requires 300 to 1,500 hours of training and government permission.

The most licences in the United States are required in California where 177 different jobs require a special license or credential. The state with the least licensing is Missouri where just 41 careers require certification.

For more information and to view the detailed breakdown of states and the occupations licensed visit http://reason.org/news/show/1002854.html

This page was generated on 01 October, 2009