By Charles Young, WV News
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce is praising the state’s recent unemployment data as a sign of an economy “roaring back” from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest unemployment data released by WorkForce West Virginia showed the state’s total employment for April 2021 rose to 750,100, just 5,800 below April 2019, which was the best April since 2008, Chamber President Steve Roberts said.
“April 2020 was the first month that the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects showed up in employment data, so while April 2021 is fantastic compared to April 2020, it’s important to compare this month to April 2019,” Roberts said. “2019 was the year that West Virginia was approaching record employment levels, so returning to 2019 levels of employment has been a key in our recovery. As it stands now, we have almost accomplished that.”
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped one-tenth of a percentage point to 5.8% in April, according to WorkForce’s April report released Tuesday…
