Morgantown has Nation's Lowest Unemployment Rate (Charleston, Huntington: 2009, construction, university)

[CTMountaineer]

The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports - News - Morgantown has nation's lowest jobless rate*

DC area including Eastern Panhandle has second lowest.

[snorpus]

2.7% is impressively low. Even in good economic conditions, 4-5% is generally considered full employment. At 2.7%, employers might be raiding each other for good, qualified, new employees.

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by snorpus

2.7% is impressively low. Even in good economic conditions, 4-5% is generally considered full employment. At 2.7%, employers might be raiding each other for good, qualified, new employees.

Actuallly there is a need for workers in Morgantown, especially in the health care and construction areas, but also to some extent in corrections.

[vec101]

Yea, MoTown!!!!!!

[vegaspilgrim]

Unbelieveable how the news likes to spin everything into a negative, doom and gloom story. The article mentioned that Morgantown, WV has the lowest unemployment, but instead only talked about how bad other places were. It didn't say a single thing about why Morgantown was so low.

What's going on there in Morgantown? Why is the unemployment rate there so low? I've never been to West Virginia before.

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Unbelieveable how the news likes to spin everything into a negative, doom and gloom story. The article mentioned that Morgantown, WV has the lowest unemployment, but instead only talked about how bad other places were. It didn't say a single thing about why Morgantown was so low.

What's going on there in Morgantown? Why is the unemployment rate there so low? I've never been to West Virginia before.

The main reason is the growing stature of the State's flagship university, West Virginia University. Research is growing by leaps and bounds there as it the student body, and it is leading to significant job creation. Also, there is a diverse industrial base with pharmaceuticals, mining, electrical power generation, lumber, and federal government jobs in the region, and the close proximity to a larger metropolitan area (Pittsburgh to the north).

It's also located near the major east-west interstate corridors connecting the large metropolitan areas... NYC, Washington, DC, Cleveland, and Chicago.

[Trailhiker]

I don't live in West Virginia, but I grew up in Pittsburgh and am quite familiar with the state.

I have to say that I am quite impressed to see Morgantown at #1 and West Virginia as a whole doing so well. Charleston's rate is also very low, and Wheeling, Huntington, and Parkersburg are all below the national average.

I currently live in Fargo, ND, which has the 8th lowest unemployment rate and is always near the top. It is nice to see someone different at #1.

Has West Virginia always had a fairly low unemployment rate, or is this rather new to the state?

[tbailey1138]

You're right about the unemployment rate in most of WV being very low and Morgantown's in particular is GREAT. The worst counties in WV are right at the national average for unemployment. I think this is partly because WV sees more of a steady growth rate rather than the quick highs and then subsequent lows that many other parts of the country see. Now national problems with businesses closing etc. do affect us here, it just takes a little bit longer. Here's the data info for all of WV.

http://www.wvbep.org/bep/lmi/datarel/cnty_PR.pdf

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

What's going on there in Morgantown? Why is the unemployment rate there so low? I've never been to West Virginia before.

There was an interesting interview over the weekend where the mayor of Morgantown was asked this. He noted that it was government investment via WVU and subsequent private investment to go along with it. Here was an interesting quote from the interview "Could Morgantown, in a sense, be a vision of this blurring between Socialism and Capitalism?" and Mayor Justice's answer "I think not only could we be, but we are." Here's the link to the interview and another article about how the US has/is becoming a Socialist Nation.

An Economic Hot Spot on Cold Winter Days - WOWK-TV - WOWKTV.com

NEWSWEEK Cover: We Are All Socialists Now: Jon Meacham and Evan Thomas on Why 'We Are All Socialists Now' - Huntington News Network

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by tbailey1138

You're right about the unemployment rate in most of WV being very low and Morgantown's in particular is GREAT. The worst counties in WV are right at the national average for unemployment. I think this is partly because WV sees more of a steady growth rate rather than the quick highs and then subsequent lows that many other parts of the country see. Now national problems with businesses closing etc. do affect us here, it just takes a little bit longer. Here's the data info for all of WV.

http://www.wvbep.org/bep/lmi/datarel/cnty_PR.pdf



There was an interesting interview over the weekend where the mayor of Morgantown was asked this. He noted that it was government investment via WVU and subsequent private investment to go along with it. Here was an interesting quote from the interview "Could Morgantown, in a sense, be a vision of this blurring between Socialism and Capitalism?" and Mayor Justice's answer "I think not only could we be, but we are." Here's the link to the interview and another article about how the US has/is becoming a Socialist Nation.

An Economic Hot Spot on Cold Winter Days - WOWK-TV - WOWKTV.com

NEWSWEEK Cover: We Are All Socialists Now: Jon Meacham and Evan Thomas on Why 'We Are All Socialists Now' - Huntington News Network

I agree, and I think in addition part of it has to do with the fact that the State does not have any large cities. Although there are impoverished areas in West Virginia, they do not approach the kind of dependency mentality that you find in the large cities. West Virginians on the whole are self sufficient. They find a way to survive and be productive no matter what is going on around them. I found that to be true even among the prison population.

I worked in prisons in WV and NY. There is an enormous difference in the capabilities of the two groups. Most WV inmates can be productive with their hands... they can make and fix things. The NY inmates lacked even basic skills on average. Strange thing is the system in NY did even less to remedy the situation. They actually allowed inmates to have visitors just about any time. An inmate could sit in the visit room playing footsie with his/her boyfriend/girlfriend all day instead of being in class or working. WV limited contact visits to once per month.

[Silkdashocker]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

I agree, and I think in addition part of it has to do with the fact that the State does not have any large cities. Although there are impoverished areas in West Virginia, they do not approach the kind of dependency mentality that you find in the large cities. West Virginians on the whole are self sufficient. They find a way to survive and be productive no matter what is going on around them. I found that to be true even among the prison population.

I worked in prisons in WV and NY. There is an enormous difference in the capabilities of the two groups. Most WV inmates can be productive with their hands... they can make and fix things. The NY inmates lacked even basic skills on average. Strange thing is the system in NY did even less to remedy the situation. They actually allowed inmates to have visitors just about any time. An inmate could sit in the visit room playing footsie with his/her boyfriend/girlfriend all day instead of being in class or working. WV limited contact visits to once per month.

Interesting stuff CT. Sounds like WV'ians have an advantage when it comes to crafts/skills/ and possibly work ethic. Glad to see our state's people are finally being rewarded for our skill set.