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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Report: WV Battered By Recession But Poised To Make “Real Progress”

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Friday, September 2, 2011   

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - West Virginia did a lot to dodge the worst impact of the Great Recession, according to the annual State of Working West Virginia report. In spite of stubbornly high unemployment, the report finds, the state is poised to spring forward.

The state used federal stimulus money to avoid public employee layoffs and reformed the unemployment system, says Rick Wilson, area director for the American Friends Service Committee. Those steps, he adds, helped West Virginia come out better than other states.

"In the past, if the United States caught a cold, West Virginia went on life support. This time, although there are some grim numbers there, it didn't hit us quite as hard as it hit many other places."

West Virginia has long had a lot of people left behind in the workplace, Wilson says, and that was made worse by the Great Recession.

"Our unemployment rate is still twice what it was before the recession. We've got a serious jobs deficit, and many of the unemployed have been unemployed for more than six months."

Wilson says West Virginia should take advantage of its comparatively strong position.

"West Virginia is in a position now, if we're smart, to really spring forward. One of the things we can do is to put more into our workforce development."

One recommendation in the report is setting aside part of the severance taxes from the natural gas boom. Wilson says that would be an investment in the future.

"A severance tax trust fund could be used for infrastructure, for education, for development, for research, and all those things that help the economy grow."

The state has persistently high unemployment, Wilson says, as well as a lot of people who have quit looking. However, he adds, the state has a budget surplus and could make real progress by investing in education and workforce development.

Wilson worked on the report with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. After noon today, the report will be online at wvpolicy.org.


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