State Unemployment at Worst Rate Since 1993

by Jared Hunt

Daily Mail Capitol Reporter

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The number of West Virginians working or looking for work has dropped to its lowest level since 1993, according to new data from Workforce WV.

Last week, state officials touted that unemployment fell to 7.4 percent in July, down from 8.6 percent the month before. They pointed to the growth of 1,700 private sector jobs as a good sign for the economy.

However, if you dig into the numbers a bit further, the news is not so good.

For starters, the 7.4 percent rate is not seasonally adjusted, meaning it doesn't account for some of the regular seasonal trends in the jobs market.

The state's unemployment rate tends to rise in the winter months and fall in the summer months. Adjusting for seasonal factors helps reduce the noise in labor market data and helps bring out the broader overall direction of unemployment in the state.