West Virginia is the only state that experienced a statistically significant decrease in employment in the year ending July 2015, according to a release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The state lost about 19,100 jobs over the course of the year, while 34 states and D.C. reported statistically significant increases. California, the year’s biggest winner, gained 494,300 jobs.
West Virginia, which also boasts the country’s highest jobless rate of 7.5%, has suffered from a downturn in the coal industry. Low coal prices have led to diminished production and major layoffs, according to the Wall Street Journal. According to one May report from West Virginia University, the state’s annual coal output has declined from nearly 158 million short tons in 2008 to 115 million in 2014.
