West Virginia Population Change by Age Group
generally more of a long-run descriptor of the state’ s underlying labor market conditions, whereas the unemployment rate is more focused on short-run cyclical movements in economic conditions.
West Virginia’ s labor force participation rate is 55 %. The state has been at or near the bottom of this list since the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics began reporting this data series in the 1970s. On a positive note, the state’ s rate has increased over the past couple of years, and the workforce participation gap with the nation has narrowed slightly.
Age Distribution
One factor behind West Virginia’ s low rate of labor force participation is the fact that we have an older population compared to most of the U. S. The state’ s median age stands more than three years above the national figure. Another sign of the state’ s skewed age distribution is the fact that more than 21 % of the state’ s residents are aged 65 or older, exceeding the national figure by nearly 4 %. As reported in a nearby figure, our state has aged significantly over the past decade. The number of West Virginians 65 and older has increased by nearly 20 %. This trend is expected to continue for at least the next five years, albeit at a slower pace.
Age is not the only factor contributing to the state’ s low rate of labor force participation. West Virginia also lags the nation significantly in terms of labor force participation for various specific age groups, such as ages 18 to 24, 25 to 55— prime working age— and 55 to 65.
Drug Overdose Mortality Rate, 2022
Education and Health
Two important drivers of our state’ s labor force participation deficit are poor educational and health outcomes. It is likely that some people in our state would like to work in an ideal scenario but lack proper education and / or job training and as such are not actively looking for work because they doubt that they will find satisfactory employment. Likewise, it is possible there are many West Virginians who would like to work but are unable to do so due to an adverse health condition. According to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention( CDC), the state lags the nation significantly in terms of many health outcome measures and overall morbidity.
Drug Use
Another source of the state’ s poor health outcome trends over the past decade or so has been the increased use of and death from opioid use and other drug overdoses. Indeed, the drug overdose rate in West Virginia was more than double the national average in 2022 according to the CDC. West Virginia’ s drug overdose mortality rate, 81 deaths per 100,000 people, was more than 20 points higher than Tennessee, the state with the second-highest rate. While drug use creates incredible suffering for individuals and families, it serves as yet another economic development impediment for the state overall.
Solutions
There is no easy solution to the labor force participation problem. Issues surrounding human capital— factors such as health, education / workforce preparedness and drug use— are longterm challenges that will not be fixed overnight. However, it is imperative more is done to find effective ways to improve these adverse outcomes, not only to enhance the attractiveness of the state to potential businesses but also to improve the lives of West Virginians in fundamental ways.
In-Migration
A solution that can help in a more immediate way is encouraging inmigration into West Virginia. Population change is driven by two factors:
76 WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE