Economy | News, Sports, Jobs
September’s unemployment numbers in West Virginia were announced with the usual fanfare and backslapping, as officials were thrilled to announce unemployment is at 4.6% — below the national average and the lowest it has been in the Mountain State in 14 years.
Wonderful. Certainly efforts to reopen our economy and help businesses get back on their feet in the midst of a pandemic have something to do with that percentage.
“West Virginia is moving in the right direction in supporting employers and making sure we have good workers and good-paying jobs,” said Scott Adkins, acting commissioner of WorkForce West Virginia.
Perhaps. But there are troubling numbers obscured by all the hoopla. The state’s labor force participation rate is still the lowest in the country — a pitiful 55.2% as of August. That means 44.8% of the working-age population in our state … isn’t.
Traditional explanations for low…
