This report is the seventh in an annual series that examines the state of West Virginia’s economy as it impacts working people. Each year, we examine the latest available data on employment, income, productivity and job quality as well as the immediate economic challenges and opportunities. Read PDF of report.
The themes have varied from year to year with changes in the economy but the basic goal remains the same: to look at what can sometimes seem to be dreary numbers and indicators from the point of view of those who actually do the work.
It is very common to find reports in the media or comments from political leaders about the state’s business climate; it is all too seldom that the discussion turns to the climate for working people and their families. It is our belief that the economy exists for people and not people for the economy, and that a strong economy requires a growing middle class..
In this report, as in those of the past, we will attempt to identify short- and long-term trends and to find the story behind the numbers. Each year, we also recommend policy changes to improve conditions for working people, some of which have actually come to pass.
To use a nautical metaphor for a landlocked state, West Virginia’s economy can at times resemble a sailboat or a motorboat. In the former case, it is driven by external factors, such as the national and global economy. But, like a motorboat, our economy can also be driven by internal factors, such as its historic dependence on natural resource extraction.
In addition to external or internal market factors, the decisions of policymakers can have a huge impact on the economy and the quality of life for working families. Fortunately, in a democracy, this is something which ordinary working people can influence—and indeed have recently done so with some success.
Immigrant households are significant contributors to Virginia’s economy and help the state outperform the country as a whole in education, labor force participation, and household income.
Almost 40 percent of foreign-born Virginians age 25 or over have a bachelor’s degree, according to recently released 2013 American Community Survey data. That’s a much higher share than among adults in the U.S. as a whole, whether native-born or foreign-born.
In the past two decades a momentous shift has taken place within our workforce. New Mexico’s labor force, which in 1990 was dominated by workers in their prime working age (those aged 25 to 54), now has a much more significant role for workers over age 55. This is to be expected as our population ages. At the same time, the share of younger workers in the workforce has fallen. Although some of that is undoubtedly due to the Great Recession, the share of younger workers in the workforce did not rise during the economic expansion of the early 2000s. What’s more, it is common for youth under age 25 to enroll in college in higher rates when the demand for young labor is low, but that was not the case during the recession.
Inclusion in the workforce is an important rite of passage for young people: finding a job carries with it the possibility of living independently and starting a family. Failure to join the labor force can cause significant stress, both to the young workers themselves and to their parents. This report will discuss the labor force performance of teenagers and young workers both over time, and will compare conditions in New Mexico to other states in the mountain west region.
The State of Working Wisconsin 2014 uses the best and recent data available on jobs and wages to describe the serious economic challenges that Wisconsin continues to face.