West Virginia’s economy shows signs of cooling as unemployment grew 0.3% in May to 5.3% — the highest unemployment rate in the state since mid-2004, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said in its July snapshot of West Virginia’s economy released on Tuesday.
Labor markets in West Virginia weakened as employment fell 0.2%, a loss of 1,600 jobs. Only the government sector added jobs in May. Meanwhile, real personal income levels were basically flat over the first quarter of 2008 after two quarters of weak growth, according to the bank.
Real estate markets softened a bit and residential permitting activity was down 36.2% in May, representing the fourth straight month of year-over-year decline. Housing starts were also down 35% in May.
