The event is set for noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 2. WorkForce West Virginia invites employers and people seeking jobs to participate.
West Virginia has another virtual job fair coming up next month.
The event is set for noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 2. WorkForce West Virginia invites employers and people seeking jobs to participate.
“The October event paired the more than 200 registered jobseekers with organizations from all across the state, resulting in nearly 50 submitted resumes,” said Scott Adkins, acting commissioner of WorkForce West Virginia.
People looking for jobs can apply, live chat, video chat and interview virtually with participating employers at the event.
Applicants and employers are both required to register for the fair.
Unemployment in West Virginia jumped in September, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 4 percent, according to data from WorkForce West Virginia.
Unemployment in West Virginia jumped in September, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 4 percent, according to data from WorkForce West Virginia.
The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 3.5 percent.
The number of unemployed West Virginia residents jumped 500 to 31,500 people.
Nationally, Federal Reserve leaders said the unemployment rate is likely to increase next year due to interest rate increases in an effort to fight inflation.
They estimate an additional 1.2 million Americans will be unemployed by the end of 2023.
If you’re looking for a job, Workforce West Virginia is hosting virtual job fairs. Participants can apply, chat and interview online with employers participating in the event.
One bill likely to be revisited in the upcoming special session would create an unemployment fraud unit within WorkForce West Virginia.
One bill likely to be revisited in the upcoming special session would create an unemployment fraud unit within Workforce WV.
A state audit showed nearly $83 million filed in false unemployment insurance claims during the pandemic. The U.S. Department of Labor laid much of the blame on organized crime using stolen identity information to apply for unemployment benefits in others’ names.
WorkForce West Virginia already investigates unemployment fraud, but SB 543 will create a criminal justice agency within the department. The unit will include supervisory, legal and investigative workers.
Law enforcement officers within the unit will be trained in computer technology specific to unemployment insurance. They can carry handguns and would have subpoena and warrant powers.
The bill passed both the House and Senate but died without concurrence as the legislative session ended.
Acting WorkForce West Virginia commissioner Scott Adkins said he’s been working closely with the U.S. Attorney offices in West Virginia’s northern and southern districts. He said a designated fraud unit will enhance the scope and strength of the state’s criminal cases.
“What my folks will do is put a package together and deliver it with a nice ribbon on it to the county prosecutor,” Adkins said. “We’re going to go after those folks who fraudulently took the unemployment benefits of five, seven or eight thousand dollars.”
Individuals convicted of unemployment insurance fraud in West Virginia may face up to 30 days in prison and up to $1,000 in fines, plus full restitution of the money received illegally.
In his State of the State address, Gov. Jim Justice announced an incentive program to encourage West Virginians to return to the labor force. The program is called the Jobs Jumpstart program.
In his State of the State address, Gov. Jim Justice announced an incentive program to encourage West Virginians to return to the labor force. The program is called the Jobs Jumpstart program.
Program applicants are required to maintain a job for at least eight consecutive weeks and average at least 32 hours per week. Once they complete that requirement, they are eligible for a one-time payment of $1,500.
“Since we launched this thing in January, 14,687 West Virginians have applied,” Justice said. “And 12,533 have been approved.”
West Virginia residents who currently receive unemployment benefits, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits and who obtain employment between January 1 and August 12, 2022, may be eligible for the Job Jumpstart Program.
It will continue on a first-come, first-served basis through August 12, 2022, or until funding is expended.
West Virginia’s unemployment numbers are at record low levels — currently it stands at 3.7 percent. But a nagging problem remains the low labor force participation numbers — that is the number of people who are eligible to work, but aren’t working or not even trying to find a job. Our labor force participation is among the lowest in the country.
Eric Douglas spoke with WVU economist Heather Stephens about the state’s labor force, and what just raising our labor force to the national average would mean for the state.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Douglas: Below about 4 percent unemployment is generally considered full employment, right?
Courtesy photo
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Courtesy Photo
WVU economist Heather Stephens.
Stephens: People don’t know the exact number, but you’re right, once you get into this kind of range, it’s statistically close to full employment. That means that most people who have decided they want to work are able to find a job. It doesn’t say anything about the quality of the jobs. So there could be still people in the state that are underemployed, meaning that they’re working, but they’re not working full time or are not making enough money to offset the rising inflation that’s happening.
Douglas: We’re at 55 percent labor force participation and the country’s at 62 percent. So there’s theoretically 7 percent of the state population that could be working.
Stephens: The whole idea of the civilian population that is used to calculate the labor force participation rate is that technically even more of that population could be eligible to work, but there’s always going to be reasons people aren’t in the labor force. This has been an ongoing challenge for West Virginia. We’ve had historically these lower levels of labor force participation that can’t really be explained by the demographics of our population. It’s a big challenge to deal with. I agree, perhaps that needs to be the focus, especially if there are these new employment opportunities. It’s also possible that relatively high paying new jobs would be the stimulus that would bring people who haven’t been in the labor force back in. In economics, we talk about this reservation wage or reservation opportunity, which it’s different for every person, but below which people really don’t want to work. It’s not worth my time, or it could be the cost of childcare, the cost of commuting, there’s all kinds of reasons, right? So the right opportunities might be enough to bring people back into the labor force.
Douglas: Is there a way to quantify that number of people just to get labor force participation in the state up to the national average.
Stephens: Right now, the labor force of the state is at about 789,900. So if we were to go to 61.9 percent of our population, we would go up about 888,000. That would be an increase of almost 100,000 people.
Douglas: If we were at national levels of labor force participation, there’d be 100,000 more people in the labor force.
Stephens: If we use that to apply our unemployment rate, 94,000 more people would actually be working, if we assume that once those people entered the labor force, that only 3 to 4 percent would be unemployed. Even if unemployment was a lot higher, you’d still be talking about a significant number of people working or eligible to work in the state.
Douglas: That’s pretty incredible numbers actually, and we’re not discussing pie in the sky dream labor force participation, you’re just talking the national average.
Stephens: That’s a national average. Yeah, there are places that are much higher. Honestly, even just like a couple percent increase, if you only had like 1 or 2 percent, you’d still get thousands of new people working in West Virginia.
West Virginia’s labor force has lagged behind the national average for at least 46 years, according to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
West Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped three-tenths of a percentage point to 3.7 percent in December, the lowest rate for the state on record.
Total employment grew by 1,600 over the month, and the number of unemployed state residents dropped by 2,700 to 28,900, WorkForce West Virginia said in a statement Thursday.
Employment gains included 1,500 in construction; 1,100 in education and health services; 900 in government; 800 in trade, transportation and utilities; 700 in professional and business services; 700 in leisure and hospitality, and 400 in manufacturing.
Among the job declines were 100 in mining and logging, 100 in financial activities and 100 in information.
Total nonfarm payroll employment has increased by 28,300 since December 2020, the statement said.
The national unemployment rate fell three-tenths of a percentage point to 3.9 percent in December.
