Author: ciaralitchfield1902

Job Participation is Up, Unemployment is Down

by Ciara Litchfield

Job participation is up by 19,000 people in the state of West Virginia and is the best figure the state has seen since January 2009. The total number of people in the workforce grew from 744,000 in October 2018 to 763,000 from October of 2019.

Photo by Chevanon Photography from Pexels

Dr. John Deskins, Bureau of Business and Economic Research director, said, “West Virginia will never be able to achieve a level of economic prosperity that is on par with the nation with a labor force participation rate that is a full 10 percentage points below the national average.”

While the labor participation rate has gotten better, increasing up to 54.8% from 53.9%.The state still has the lowest labor participation rate in the country at 53% below the national average which is 63.3%.

https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LASST540000000000003?amp%253bdata_tool=XGtable&output_view=data&include_graphs=true

Along with growth in participation in the labor force, the state is also seeing a decrease in unemployment. In September, the state had seen an unemployment rate of 4.7 percent. This is a full percentage away from the unemployment national average of 3.6%.

In the October 2019 jobs report it shows that W.Va. had seen employment gains in manufacturing, construction, education and health services. It also showed that W.Va. had a decline in employment in the mining, logging and retail trade fields. Retail trade decline isn’t surprising as we see stores unable to compete with online websites and stores.

This workforce participation rate is determined by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and is calculated by the sum of employed and unemployed active job seekers divided by total working able population. This is used to measure the state’s active workforce.

Justice and other large-acre farms receive large sums under “Trade War Bail-out”

by Ciara Litchfield

A farm linked to Jim Justice recently received the maximum amount from a subsidy meant for the farmers in North Carolina that were struggling due to the trade war with China.

Jim Justicehttps://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Justice

One would think that a subsidy meant for the “average American farmer” struggling financially, would not apply to the farms that are owned by the richest man in the state of West Virginia. Justice has a net-worth of $1.5 billion and is the state’s only billionaire.

 However, it turns out that the aid is offered per acre which allows the larger farms to collect more in aid than smaller farms. This aid also doesn’t require farms to prove losses, just their production.

The farm linked to Justice received $121,398 for soybeans and $3,602 for corn when the median for amount received is $6,438 for soybeans and $152 for corn. This farm is part of an ongoing lawsuit that alleges the Justice businesses transferred assets between them in an effort to avoid paying a debt.

These tariffs majorly impacted farmers who make a living off of soybeans and other row crops, pork, dairy, cherries, and almonds. The worst blow for the farmers was from the trade war with China was in August when China’s Commerce Ministry halted all agricultural purchases within the United States.

This comes as the Farm Bureau revealed that farm Chapter 12 bankruptcies were a total of 580 filings and the highest since 2011. These bankruptcies are a combination of the tariffs imposed by China as a result of tariffs placed on them and two consecutive years of adverse planting, growing and harvesting conditions. 

“We had such a wet spring that most people weren’t able to get their crops into the ground until really, really late — sometimes not even until June,” Sarah Zastrow a farmer in Michigan said about the planting season. “It rained a ton this spring and then stopped, and we didn’t get very much rain all summer long, so not only were the crops behind because the spring rain pushed them back, but when they did get in the ground, there wasn’t the rain to help them grow.”

Not only are farmers facing economic adversity, but the farming equipment suppliers are facing layoffs. Both Deere & Co. and Caterpillar lowered their sale outlook for 2019 due to the trade war and little demand. Deere & Co. laid off a total of 160 works in Illinois and Iowa while Caterpillar laid off 120 workers in Texas.

edited on Wednesday, November 20th at 4:18 to add a byline and fix two links.

WVU and CDC Partner to Promote Healthy Lifestyles

by Ciara Litchfield

West Virginia University has recently partnered with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in order to help promote healthy lifestyles in a state that isn’t so healthy compared to others. 

Photo by WVUToday.com

The program, called Be Wild, Be Wonderful, Be Healthy, provides funding for 18 organizations in Clay and McDowell counties that increase access to healthy foods and encourages physical activity. The program leaves much of the planning up to the organizations in order for them to decide what serves their community best and what would be most effective in engaging the community. 

The project coordinator for the program, Kerry Gabbert said that, “We look forward to seeing the unique ways community organizations in Clay and McDowell counties work to create opportunities for their residents to be more active and make healthier food choices. Each community has its own set of challenges, and our contractual partners have creative, strategic plans to move their communities forward and overcome some of those challenges.”

This program hopes to help reduce obesity rates in a state that currently leads the rest of the United States.  Obesity in W.Va. adults stands at 39.5 percent, closely followed by Mississippi, according to a report released by the Trust for America’s Health.

In the counties where this program launched, there aren’t many options for healthy foods. In Clay County, the only grocery store has closed and in McDowell County the only Walmart has left.

Many rural West Virginians don’t live that close to fresh produce and are one of the states least likely to report exercising 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes. 


Some factors that contribute to obesity include lack of regular activity and a healthy diet, genetics, illnesses and medication. Food insecurity is also a major contributor to obesity in West Virginia which means that they worry about having enough money to buy healthy meals. When people stress about money, many often chose low cost options such as fast food because they are easily accessible and low cost in comparison to fresh, healthy produce.

They encourage people to follow the program’s Instagram. Their posts provide followers with helpful tips to stay active and healthy recipes that are easy to follow.

Wineries and Vineyards in Talks in the Eastern Panhandle Among 2nd-Year Growth in Tourism

by Ciara Litchfield

After the news that West Virginia’s tourism industry grew for the second year, Governor Jim Justice announced on Oct 23, 2019 that his administration would be exploring possibilities to expanding vineyards and wineries in the eastern panhandle of the state. 

Justice believes that the region has the potential due to the similarities it shares with Virginia across the border, which has seen success in their vineyards and wineries. In 2015, wineries had contributed $1.37 billion dollars to the economy in Virginia.

“This could truly be a phenomenal green initiative that would lead to a major economic boost, more jobs, and a significant uptick in tourism in our beautiful Eastern Panhandle,” Gov. Justice said. “If you go to places like Jefferson and Berkeley counties, and look right across the border in Virginia, there’s been a concentrated effort to promote vineyards and wineries and it’s really been a big plus to the economy.”

West Virginia currently has 12 wineries and vineyards across the state, with one even near Morgantown. The Forks of Cheat Winery provides visitors with tours of the vineyard and tastings from their selection of wines.

Forks of Cheat Winery in Morgantown, W.Va.

West Virginia State Tourism Commissioner Chelsea Ruby said in an interview with Hoppy Kercheval on Talkline that,”Tourism in West Virginia is growing and it’s a really exciting time.”

Growth in tourism is attributed to the significant push towards outdoor recreation tourism as the attempt to move away from the coal industry continues. W.Va. Tourism has rebranded the state as “#AlmostHeaven” in order to capitalize on not only the song written by John Denver, but also the scenic views that come from the cascading mountains and rivers. 

In response to what W.Va. is trying to sell, Ruby said, “What we are selling is the mountains. It’s that view that you got no matter where you are in West Virginia, nestled in those mountains you are going to find charming small towns, unbelievable outdoor recreation, and the friendliest folks anywhere.”

People come to experience white water rafting, fishing, hiking and rock climbing to name a few of the activities.

WV Teacher’s Absences Under Fire

West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee recently defended teachers from a statistic released by the W.Va. Department of Education that showed 53% of teachers missed more than 10 days of work last year while 11% missed more than 20 days. 

Dale Lee said that, “We’re really honing in on that 11 percent and that’s where I have to get more information. I have to see if those are consecutive days or illnesses. There are reasons for that.” 

This isn’t the first time this year that W.Va. teachers have been in the news. They received media coverage in February for striking against an education bill. 

West Virginia teachers were on strike for a total of two days in February 2019 in response to an education bill that many believed would take funding away from public schools. This bill had died in the house while the teachers continued to strike to make sure the bill stayed dead with no chance of being passed.

This teacher’s strike was solely to kill a bill that would raise funding for charter schools and private school vouchers.

Shortly after the strike in February, in June 2019, the W.Va. Legislature passed an Omnibus education bill that allowed for three charter schools to be introduced into the state until 2023 when another three charter schools may be added.  This bill also still had provisions seen as positive by educators, such as provisions for seniority, pay raises, and it would create incentives to fill vacant positions at school districts.

In 2018, W.Va. teachers went on a statewide strike for a total number of nine days. This strike was because of the low pay and high healthcare costs. During those days, many teachers still provided meals to those who were left hungry due to there being no school. These teachers packed bags, and some showed up on doorsteps to deliver food to students who may have gone hungry otherwise.

Many people took to Twitter to help support these individuals who selflessly make sure that their students weren’t going hungry. Many Tweeted the hashtag “IStandWithTeachers” and “55strong” a reference to the 55 counties striking in support of the teacher’s strike.

The teacher’s strike in 2018 was successful due to the various methods of protesting. The widespread support from constituents garnered them a 5% raise. This raise allows the state to attract quality teachers in hopes of raising the quality of education in the state. West Virginia currently ranks #44 in education in the United States.