Capito says state officials need better focus on development; Morrisey says he’s working on it
August 28, 2025
Senator Shelley Moore Capito says West Virginia officials should better focus on economic development.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey says his administration is working on it, with economic development efforts that will soon bear fruit.
Both appeared at the annual Business Summit sponsored by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Capito appeared on site at The Greenbrier Resort on MetroNews Talkline.
West Virginia’s real gross state product in 2024 was about $83.7 billion, a figure that represents the total value of goods and services produced in the state, adjusted for inflation. That was a 3.5% increase from the previous year. Per person, West Virginia’s productivity ranked among the lowest in the country.
West Virginia’s unemployment rate was 3.7% as of July, about the same as it has been in recent months or slightly better. Nationally, the unemployment rate has been 4.1 percent.
While employment in West Virginia saw a small increase of 429 jobs in July, employment fell by 4,460 over the previous 12 months, a figure that the West Virginia Chamber recently spotlighted as troubling.
West Virginia’s labor statistics show a persistently low labor force participation rate, ranking at the very bottom of national figures, with a July 2025 rate of 54.3%.
The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, in a news release to kick off the week, said said it’s time for “doubling down on the importance for policymakers to align their priorities around the issues that will move the needle for West Virginia families and businesses.”
Capito, R-W.Va., agreed.
“Well, I’m going to say, and this is a criticism: I read what went on in the Legislature in the last the last session. I didn’t see much talk about jobs, job creation, setting the table for for these tax cuts that are coming that we passed in the summer,” Capito said on Talkline.
“It would be nice to be able to pair that with incentives from the state. And I just think the focus hasn’t been where it needs to be.”
She added, “We’ve got to sell it. And it has to be consistent. It has to be everybody.”
Morrisey, a Republican in his first term as governor, addressed those gathered at the Chamber event in a speech of about half an hour, outlining his administration’s economic development efforts.
“I’m always focused, and I think our team is and I believe the legislature too, how we can make West Virginia ascend and how we can better compete in that world economy,” he said. “Now I’ve been in office a little over seven months, so give me a little bit of time on this.”
The governor said his administration wants to establish a reputation for its economic structure — rather than directing incentives at favored employers.
“What we’re trying to do is get the fundamentals in place and have a structure that will be more attractive than any place across the globe,” he said,
“Now we do have a new approach that we’ve been working on, and that involves this: Rather than just throwing money at individual companies in an ad hoc manner, we’re working on the fundamentals,” he said.
“We’re not just hoping to produce results. We have to enhance West Virginia’s investment climate by lowering the regulatory and the capital barriers to enter our state.”
He said efforts to increase the workforce participation rate, offering a competitive tax structure and adjusting the regulatory environment will pay off over time.
“Now, I wake up every day and say, ‘How can I lure more businesses into West Virginia by leveraging our incredible energy resources and our people,’” Morrisey said.
Story by Brad McElhinny, MetroNews