From The Exponent Telegram:
On Sunday, The Exponent Telegram reported on some of the strong economic indicators that are showing West Virginia’s economy is improving — but has even more potential.
A day later, the unemployment numbers for June reinforced that theory, but also pointed to even stronger indicators of just how far the state has come since the economic hiccups of 2009, and then again from 2014-2016.
While the state’s unemployment rate of 4.7 percent in June was still higher than the national average of 3.7 percent, it is a remarkable improvement from the 5.3 percent of last year.
When put against the 7.5 percent of 2012, the worst percentage over the past 12 years, it shows just how far the state has climbed.
But the report also quantified the number of jobs, which likewise show encouraging trends. In June, there were 754,400 West Virginians employed. That’s 12,200 more than last year, and 25,200 more than were employed in 2015. …
