Every March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revises state labor force statistics. Each month, the state unemployment rate and other labor statistics are approximated based on a sample national survey, which is used to produce an estimate for West Virginia. When other data sources are revised (e.g., when the Census releases new population data), those…
Economy
Mountain State Spotlight, Fayette Tribune - As Katonya Hart stood outside of the House of Delegates chamber at the West Virginia Capitol, a sparkly tiara fastened to her multicolored twists, the energy around her was undeniable. Read the full article. A floor below, the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. moved about in coordinated…
West Virginia MetroNews - West Virginia lawmakers have significant decisions ahead about millions of dollars in public support for a cutting-edge battery factory on the site of the old Weirton Steel mill. Read the full article. A delegate whose district is right up on the edge of that Hancock County property, Pat McGeehan, is sounding…
Williamson Daily News - Despite pleas from social service groups to Gov. Jim Justice that leftover federal COVID relief money should be used to help struggling households, Justice instead diverted some of that money to ensure construction of Marshall University’s new baseball field. Read the full article. Seven months into the COVID-19 pandemic, 29 social…
West Virginia MetroNews - West Virginia officials excitedly announced a major green energy manufacturer last week, but there are still financial aspects of the project to pin down. Read the full article. In all, the Form Energy battery plant proposed for Hancock County is meant to result in 750 jobs and is a $760 million…
For Immediate Release: December 14, 2022 Contact: Renee Alves, 559-916-5939 Charleston, WV – Prior to the pandemic, West Virginia experienced a lost decade, with essentially no economic growth from 2009 to 2019. This happened despite years of so-called business friendly policies like tax cuts, right to work, repeal of the prevailing wage, and reductions in state spending that were…
Introduction Heading into the COVID-19 pandemic, West Virginia was already facing an economic crisis. The natural gas boom had fizzled, and in the months leading up to the pandemic, the Mountain State was steadily losing jobs and experiencing weak income and GDP growth. In 2019, West Virginia’s unemployment rate was 4.9 percent, the fourth highest…
Introduction SNAP Stretch, a program that matches SNAP benefits spent at participating markets to increase fruit and vegetable affordability and access, increases consumption of healthy foods among low-income households, boosts sales at local farmers markets, and benefits our broader economy. A $1 million state investment in SNAP Stretch could have a $2.84 million economic benefit…
While it has been nearly two and a half years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, women have still yet to return to their pre-pandemic employment levels, down 900,000 jobs in June 2022 compared with February 2020. Over the same period, men have reached and now exceeded their pre-pandemic employment levels. Women also saw larger total…
McDaniel Free Press - Because of the limits social media has, people seem to overlook the reality we live in today. Most U.S. citizens are interested in scrolling through social media apps for news, but that does not mean they are gaining important information every time they turn their phone on. Here is how social…