Over at the Wheeling Intelligencer there seems to be some confusion about the growth and the number of natural gas jobs in the state, with estimates ranging from about 2,200 to over 16,000. Compiled below is a breakdown of natural gas sector job growth based on an analysis we did back in November. These annual…
Income and Work
Disappointing Job Trends Continue in May - West Virginia saw its total nonfarm employment fall for the fourth straight month, losing 1,900 jobs between April and May. Although monthly losses have not been as large as at the beginning of 2009, a similar pattern seems to be emerging. Nonfarm employment remains below its prerecession level. In…
As we discussed in a previous post, coal mining employment has risen over the last three years. Today, Workforce WV released job figures for the fourth quarter of 2011 and the annual average of 2011. Included in this release is coal mining employment. The two charts below use this new data to update our previous…
On Friday, Floyd Norris of the New York Times had a piece on the increase in seniors working since 2006. In West Virginia, we've seen a similar pattern. In 2011, approximately 13.2 percent of those 65 and older were employed compared to just 9.0 percent in 2006. In comparison, in 2011 49.9 percent of all…
Brad Delong sends us to this great speech (and presentation) from venture capitalist Nick Hanauer, which was recently banned from TED. More on that here. His remarks remind me of the Robert Reich axiom: You can't have a strong economy without a strong middle class. While businesses and the 1% love tax cuts, it has…
Over at Coal Tattoo, Ken Ward has a must read piece on why state politicians and the media avoid having a balanced discussion regarding the impact of the coal industry. One of the central reasons why our state is unable to have a rational discussion is the propaganda and inflammatory rhetoric coming from the coal…
Over at Coal Tattoo, Ken Ward has a must read piece on why state politicians and the media avoid having a balanced discussion regarding the impact of the coal industry. One of the central reasons why our state is unable to have a rational discussion is the propaganda and inflammatory rhetoric coming from the coal…
There has a been a lot of chatter about the shrinkage in the U.S. labor force. Brad Delong takes us to two fed studies and Rorty Bomb provides the analysis. This graph from Ezra Klein shows the long-term and accelerated decline in labor force participation: As the graph points out, the labor force participation rate…
Today the Governor officially ordered Workforce WV to begin drug testing those enrolled in job training programs (see below press release). What was not mentioned was that these programs are completely funded by federal dollars and that they mostly go to the "disadvantaged and at-risk youth, adults, and dislocated workers." However, the big question is…
Our friends at the CBPP have released a new report today debunking the "Texas economic miracle" of the Great Recession. The report lists several factors for why Texas has weathered the recession better than most states. Two of these factors, including a lack of a housing bubble and above average employment in natural resource extraction,…