By Phil Kabler, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Personal income in West Virginia grew by 4.89% in 2020, the largest rate of growth in 20 years, but growth that was fueled entirely by a surge in federal government transfer payments — stimulus checks, enhanced unemployment benefits and other pandemic relief, a new analysis from Pew Charitable Trusts shows.
“Every state experienced an uptick in total personal income last year as historic gains in unemployment benefits, federal aid, and other public assistance drove the sharpest annual growth in two decades,” the report notes. “Without government support, most states would have sustained declines in personal income — a key economic indicator — as the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on business activity.”
West Virginia’s 4.89% growth in personal income exceeded the U.S. average of 4.86%, but it was fueled by a 24.92% increase in federal government transfer payments for the year, Pew found.
Otherwise, earnings — which include wages from work, plus extra compensation such as employer-sponsored health benefits, Medicare and Medicaid, and business profits — fell 3.45% in West Virginia in 2020, a steeper drop than the U.S. average of -0.90%, the study found…
