Beckley Register-Herald – West Virginia still ranks “dead last” in job growth — losing nearly 7,000 jobs — a statistic due in part to the decline of coal jobs in southern West Virginia. At the same time, the increase in the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was the third-highest in the nation from 2012-2013, growing by 17 percent in the last decade. Read
Also, the Mountain State’s workforce is working harder and being more productive, but is not seeing a corresponding increase in pay.
The conflicting statistics were released this week by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.
The center noted that the decline of coal employment in the region is balanced by the energy boom from gas drilling in Marcellus shale in the northern part of the state.
