How Labor Shortages Affect Housing And Us & Them Takes Us To East Palestine, This West Virginia Morning   

On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginians have struggled to find affordable housing for years. The pandemic made things worse as demand increased. A lack of available housing inventory – or land on which to build – is exacerbated by a shortage of laborers and skilled tradesmen to build the houses.

Caroline MacGregor continues our radio series “Help Wanted: Understanding West Virginia’s Labor Force” with a look at how a shortage of workers is affecting the housing industry.

Also, in this show, workers continue to excavate contaminated material from the site of a train derailment earlier this year in East Palestine, Ohio. The accident just across the state border, sent toxic chemicals into the air, soil and water. Several government agencies are on the scene to coordinate the response.

In a new episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay hears from residents who say they don’t know who to trust. Some worry about delays and misinformation while others think things are going as well as they can. We listen to an excerpt.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.

Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning