BECKLEY, W.Va. — West Virginia’s jobless rate inched up to 6.3 percent in January, up one-tenth of a percent from the previous month, while the national unemployment rate continued falling to 4.9 percent.
For the year 2015, the state’s unemployment rate was 6.7 percent, tied with Nevada as the nation’s highest jobless rate. Nationally the unemployment rate was 5.5 percent last year.
Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed West Virginia’s employment rate actually worsened in 2015; the year before the jobless rate was 6.6 percent.
Both state and federal officials have said the collapse of coal is a major contributor to the state’s weak job market…