Uncategorized ·Employment

This is the only state losing a significant amount of jobs

BYClaire Groden
August 25, 2015, 6:33 PM UTC
Coal Industry Facing Downturn With New EPA Rules And Alpha Natural Resources Bankruptcy
Coal spills out from a tower into a large pile at an Alpha Natural Resources Inc. coal preparation plant in Logan County near Yolyn, West Virginia, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015. Alpha Natural Resources Inc. filed for bankruptcy in Virginia last week, becoming the latest victim of the coal industrys worst downturn in decades. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photograph by Bloomberg via Getty Images

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.