Poll: West Virginians have cautious view of labor market, economy
September 1, 2024
Most West Virginians say the economy, employment and jobs are the most important problems in West Virginia.
Yet most respondents to the latest MetroNews West Virginia Poll say West Virginia is on the wrong track. And most are ambivalent about the direction of the state’s economy.
“We see that a little more than half believe West Virginia is on the wrong track, not great but certainly better than how people perceive the economy overall and the the state of affairs in the country versus West Virginia. So a more positive feeling about the future here than the state voters have about the country overall,” pollster Rex Repass said in a presentation at the annual West Virginia Chamber of Commerce business summit.
The latest version of the poll showed 56% of respondents believe West Virginia is going off on the wrong track versus 44% who say the state is heading in the right direction.
Another question asked more specifically about respondents’ impressions of the state economy. Most, 45%, said they believe it will stay about the same over the coming year. Thirty percent think the state’s economy will get worse, and 26% say it will improve.
That’s a little more optimistic than last year, when just 19% of respondents thought the economy would improve, 37% thought it would stay the same and 44% thought it would get worse.
When respondents were asked this year about the most important problem facing West Virginia right now, 41% said the economy, unemployment and jobs.
That blew away other options: crime and corruption drew a 7% response and so did lowering taxes. Tied at 6% were the healthcare system, abortion issues and public health, disease and illness. Quality education was at 5% with a few other issues coming after that.
“You see everything else is in single digits,” Repass said.
The MetroNews West Virginia Poll included 400 completed interviews among registered voters likely to vote in the coming general election. The polling took place August 21-27. All 55 counties are included in the sample. The confidence level is +/- 4.9 percentage points. The West Virginia Poll is presented by The Health Plan.
At the Chamber of Commerce’s annual business summit, where these poll results were initially presented, Gov. Jim Justice announced three new economic development projects for the state.
They are a $126 million investment by Babcock & Wilcox for a hydrogen production facility in Mason County expected to initially create 28 well-paying jobs; a $59 million investment by Handcraft Services for a medical linen production facility in Berkeley County resulting in 220 jobs; and a $35 million investment in Buckhannon by Prime 6 for a high-performing charcoal and wood logs facility to create 75 jobs.
In a regular administration briefing last week, Justice said he is confident that each of those will be an economic contributor to West Virginia.
“Today, West Virginia competes with other states to attract businesses don’t we? We never competed before. We never tried to compete. We were convinced before that we should know our place and that our place is dead last. Now it’s not dead last. Now we’re competing and we’re winning a lot of times,” Justice said during the briefing.
Meanwhile, West Virginia’s acting unemployment secretary described job market figures as relatively stable while speaking to lawmakers last week.
The number of unemployed state residents rose 400 to 33,100 in West Virginia, according to the most recent state figures. State figures show 48,000 job openings in West Virginia.
“We have about about 1.5 jobs for every unemployed West Virginian. So there’s currently more jobs than job seekers,” Scott Adkins told lawmakers during legislative interim meetings.
West Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has been stable over the past couple of years, Adkins said — usually about 4.1% to 4.3%. The unemployment rate is simply the percentage of people in the labor force who are unemployed. To be considered unemployed, a person must be of working age, available for work and be taking steps to find a job.
The U.S. Bureau for Labor Statistics shows West Virginia’s unemployment rate for July at 4.2 percent.
West Virginia’s workforce participation rate, long a drag on state economic activity, is 55.1 percent, Adkins said. In some counties, it’s worse. The national workforce participation rate is 62.7 percent. The workforce participation rate includes both people who are employed and those who are looking for work. To calculate the figure, the labor force is divided by the total adult population — so in West Virginia’s case the figure is always affected by the sheer number of retired or disabled people.
Story by Brad McElhinny, MetroNews
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