- November 9, 2015
- West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy
- Sean O'Leary and Ted Boettner
This report is the eighth in an annual series that examines the state of West Virginia’s economy. While previous editions examined data on employment, income, productivity, job quality and other aspects of the economy as they impact working people, this issue is an in-depth look at one specific economic measure – West Virginia’s labor force participation rate. Read PDF.
The labor force participation rate (LFPR) is the measure of people 16 years or older either working or seeking work, expressed as a share of the adult population. Labor force participation is a complementary measure of labor market conditions to the conventional unemployment rate. The LFPR captures the share of the total adult population that is available to work, whereas the unemployment rate captures the share of the labor force that is unable to obtain employment at a given point in time. Labor force participation varies across demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and race, and can be affected by numerous economic characteristics and public policies. A healthy LFPR is a key driver of a society’s economic output per capita and overall standard of living in the long run.