Job loss accelerates in September - West Virginia’s disappointing trend of losing jobs continued in September as the state shed 3,200 jobs, marking the eighth straight month of job loss. So far in 2012, only January has seen a monthly increase in jobs. Total nonfarm employment stood at 747,500 in September, 12,800 jobs below its pre-recession…
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Contact: Anne Singer, 202-299-1066, ext. 27 or Ted Boettner, 304-720-8682, tboettner@wvpolicy.org Read report New 50-State Study Provides Detailed Profiles and Comparisons of Tax Systems and Distribution Like most state tax systems, West Virginia takes a larger share from middle- and low-income families than from wealthy families, according to the fourth edition of "Who Pays? A…
Hospitals serve a vital role in any community, providing life-saving care to the injured and ill while contributing significant dollars and hours to community service. For example, an article in yesterday's Charleston Daily Mail proclaims that the Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) "reports $115 million in area benefit" in 2012. These benefits included training classes…
Making ends meet is a struggle for many West Virginians employed in lower-wage jobs. In fact, 23% of workers in West Virginia are employed in low-wage jobs and a quarter of those live in poverty. People working in their communities as daycare workers, restaurant servers, home health aides, administrative assistants, and many other lower-income jobs deserve to be able to…
At this week's Lunch and Learn, Tara Holmes, our Summer Research Associate, presented the potential benefits to West Virginia if marijuana were to be legalized for medicinal and recreational use in the state. Her research shows that legalizing marijuana for recreational use would bring in between $26 and $45 million a year in tax revenue…
The big news yesterday was that the South Charleston stamping plant has been leased by Gestamp, a Spanish automotive stamping company. According to reports, Gestamp could eventually employ 700 workers. Gestamp chose South Charleston for several reasons, but mainly it was because the plant already contained necessary stamping equipment which allows it to be occupied immediately. The…
In July 2023, West Virginia reimplemented pre-pandemic time limits for some adults receiving food assistance via the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The time limits apply to adults between 18 and 52 (up to 54 in September 2024) without a documented disability and without children under 18 in the household, often referred to as “able-bodied…
West Virginia University is currently facing a $45 million budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year, expected to balloon to $75 million annually by 2028. During this year’s State of the University address, WVU President Gordon Gee pointed to several factors driving the shortfall including declining college-aged population, lower college-going rates, and rising financial costs. But one major factor was glaringly…
A  new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analyzes data about which businesses actually create jobs and where they create them. The conclusions from the analysis contain useful information for states, like West Virginia, looking to create jobs and grow their economy. While West Virginia recently underwent a significant tax reform, and is looking…
Last week's blog post explored how eliminating the income tax in West Virginia would overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy, and that replacing just half the revenue lost with an increased sales tax would result in a substantial tax shift, with low- and middle-income West Virginians seeing a tax increase in order to pay for a tax…