CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Republican candidate for governor Woody Thrasher issued the following statement.
“Again, Gov. Jim Justice is late to the game and clueless about the full picture.
“He boasted in June that U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis numbers showed the state leading the nation in percentage of growth in personal income for the first quarter of 2019. But updated data released today points out the state was actually 48th in personal income percentage growth for the first quarter of 2019. West Virginia was 40th in growth for the second quarter.
“West Virginia’s unemployment rate as of August 2019 was 4.5 percent, according to WorkForce West Virginia. Three counties had alarming unemployment rates: 7.2 percent in Roane County, 8.6 percent in McDowell County and 10 percent in Calhoun County.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the national unemployment rate for August as 3.7 percent. Only seven of our counties met the national unemployment rate or had one lower. West Virginia also spent Labor Day as the state with the nation’s lowest labor force participation rate.
“Just a glance at the list of recent layoffs across several industries and throughout the state shows how our economy is by no means a utopia right now. West Virginia deserves a governor who will show for the job and work tirelessly every single day to move us out of 48th place rather than wasting time on national talk shows bragging about half-truths.”
