West Virginia MetroNews - West Virginia leaders announced the state has been approved for a $68,269,946 FEMA grant to provide $300 a week in enhanced unemployment benefits. The state has pledged an additional $100 a week. Read full article. But there were already questions about just how far that money would stretch. The West Virginia Center…
As state and local officials finalize plans for children to resume learning in the coming days, a major concern for families is how parents are supposed to balance changes to the traditional school format with their work obligations. Federal COVID-relief packages passed earlier this year provide a bit of help for some families, but the…
West Virginia MetroNews - A “robust” relief plan was what those with a number of West Virginia advocacy organizations said they were hoping to see out of the next federal stimulus package that was in the works on Capitol Hill to address fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Read full article here. On Thursday, talks were…
West Virginia Public Broadcast, Ohio Valley Resource - A coalition of progressive policy and environmental groups has released a “blueprint” that provides a framework for how Ohio Valley communities could reap the benefits of federal action to address climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Read full article here. The plan, titled “Reimagine Appalachia” envisions a future economy for…
Recently, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act. The bill is a comprehensive infrastructure package that includes public money for broadband, water systems, renewable energy investments, and two critical components that would support well-paying jobs and the revitalization of coalfield communities across the country-- the RECLAIM Act and the reauthorization of the…
Last month, Governor Justice unveiled his plan for using the $1.25 billion in CARES Act funding that West Virginia received to help the state respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Treasury Department guidance forbids states from using the funds to offset revenue losses due to the pandemic, limiting what states can do with the funding. This…
West Virginia added 13,300 jobs in May, welcome news after losing 92,000 jobs in April as the state struggled with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as food service, health care, and other private sector jobs saw modest gains after April's massive losses, state and local government jobs continued to decline, partially offsetting…
Huntington Herald-Dispatch - To slow the spread of the virus no one in the world has immunity to, thousands of West Virginians had to lose their jobs. Read full article here. Now, as people head back to work, some low-earning West Virginians are realizing they may have been better off without a job. The federal…
Thanks to the CARES Act that was passed in March, last week more than 76,000 unemployed West Virginian workers claimed unemployment benefits that were more generous than those they normally would have received, while thousands more were able to receive benefits who otherwise would have received no benefits at all. However, if Congress does not…
According to WorkForce West Virginia, West Virginia lost 90,100 jobs in April, as the COVID-19 pandemic and the response to it rocked the state's economy. Since the end of March, 157,807 West Virginians have filed for unemployment insurance. This week, the Department of Labor released data on the characteristics of those who filed unemployment claims…
