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Data Only Tells Part of the Story

West Virginians got some good news late last month, when WorkForce West Virginia released data showing the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in October.

That is lower than the national average of 4.6%; and the lowest West Virginia has seen since April-June 2008, state officials indicated.

In fact, “Since October 2020, total nonfarm payroll employment has increased by 18,300,” according to WorkForce West Virginia spokesman Andy Malinoski.

But before we all start singing “Happy Days Are Here Again,” there was a telling tidbit in the state’s announcement — one that should concern every Mountain State resident.

The state’s percentage of residents in the workforce is the worst in the country. Seasonally adjusted labor force participation still sits at an abysmal 55.2%, according to the Federal Reserve’s data.

That means that of the potential workforce in West Virginia, a nearly unfathomable 44.8% are not working or seeking work. That rate is unchanged from September, by the way.

Something is still broken in our system, judging by these numbers.

Policymakers who hope we will focus on what looks like a stellar unemployment rate still have a problem on their hands, and must not ignore that in a state where we brag about our hard-working and proud workforce, something is keeping 44.8% of those people off the job.

Surely an honest assessment of those reasons nearly half of our available workforce is choosing to sit on the sidelines and a search for solutions is under way.

A low unemployment rate is fantastic.

But we still have work to do.

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