Charleston Gazette-Mail - Legislators heard the pros and cons Sunday of proposed legislation to make West Virginia a right-to-work state, with proponents saying it will help grow the state's economy, and opponents calling it an effort to destroy unions and hurt working-class families. ReadBoth sides agreed that average wages are lower in right-to-work states, but…
WVCBP in the News
Charleston Gazette-Mail - West Virginia has 1.16 million working-age people between 18 and 65, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. State figures say 750,000 West Virginians hold jobs. That leaves about 400,000 without jobs — around one-third of the workforce. Therefore, the true jobless rate is about five times higher than the official rate of…
Beckley Register-Herald - An older, unhealthy and uneducated population is why West Virginia ranks last in workforce participation rate nationally. ReadA new report by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy looks beyond the known and examines what can be done to get West Virginians back to collecting a paycheck.It's beyond debate, for decades…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - West Virginia has the highest rate of unemployment in the country, with more than 7 percent of the state's workforce left without a job. ReadBut a new report released by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy Monday says the state's labor problems go much deeper than the roughly 57,000 job…
The State Journal - There's no question West Virginia has struggled with the nation's lowest levels of labor force participation for decades. Read The Mountain State ranks last nationally in labor force participation with only a little over 50 percent of the state's residents currently working – 9.9 percentage points below the national average, according…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - The Kanawha County Commission is worrying about their budget. ReadLooking at a $600,000 deficit in the budget, the commission approved the first phase of an attempt to reduce the amount they spend on health insurance for county employees.The new policy will affect all county employees, which is about 400 people. Those in…
Triblive.com - Signs of a developing shale gas economy abound in Marshall County, W.Va. ReadThey dot the Ohio River south of Moundsville along state Route 2, where glistening fractionation towers rise above gas processing plants, powered by new electric substations across the highway. They fill parking lots with pickups, some with the out-of-state license plates…
Beckley Register-Herald - In October elected officials sitting on the Select Joint Committee on Tax Reform committee heard from the conservative The Tax Foundation that eliminating the business personal property tax would create jobs and grow the economy. Read However, a recent study by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy found the business…
Beckley Register-Herald - Everyone who cares about racial issues in Appalachia is invited to attend a two-day event at New River Community and Technical College's newly-opened Kyle and Ann Fort Arts and Sciences Building in Lewisburg. Read"Summit on Race Matters: Continuing Conversations" will begin with registration and light refreshments at 5 p.m. on Nov. 10.…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - About 70,000 West Virginians who were part of the state's Medicaid expansion are employed in jobs ranging from food service to construction to health care, according to Families USA and West Virginians for Affordable Health Care. ReadIn a report released Tuesday, Families USA notes that the study was based on "the 127,000…