CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- While the national economy struggles, West Virginia has seen some gains over the last three decades, according to a report released by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy today. However, the state still has a long way to go, according to the report.

"Economic forecasts suggest that we're going to see some significant downturns in the near future," said Ted Boettner, co-author of the report and director of the center. "But we also have the opportunity to make meaningful changes in policy that address fundamental problems and lead to more broadly shared prosperity."

The report, "The State of Working West Virginia" examines the characteristics of West Virginia labor forces as well as issues such as job quality, economic security and unemployment. It also offers recommendations for improving the state's economy.

The study uses data from 1979 to 2007.

According to the report, West Virginia has fewer people participating in the labor force -- 56.3 percent -- than any other state. The number is 9.7 percentage points below the national average and almost 20 points below the highest-ranking state, North Dakota.

Fewer than one in four of those workers have "good jobs," defined by the report as one that pays at least $17 per hour and offers an employer-sponsored health insurance and retirement plan.  

The state's economy has shifted from producing goods to delivering services. In 1979, goods-producing jobs accounted for 35.4 percent of the state's employment. By 2007, that was down by more than half, to 16.7 percent, according to the report. Service industry jobs increased from 64.6 percent in 1979 to 83.3 percent in 2007.

Officially, unemployment hit a record low in the state in September of this year, at 3.7 percent, according to the report.

But the state's underemployment rate (those who are out of work, but haven't looked for a job in the past four weeks) has remained above the national average since 1997. Involuntary part-time workers -- those who want full-time work, but can't find it -- have risen from 14.1 percent in 2006 to 17.4 percent in 2007.

Among the report's other findings:

| State workers lag behind in education, but are improving. In 2007, 20.9 percent of the state's workers had an undergraduate degree, compared to 30.3 percent nationwide. In 1979, 11 percent of state's workers had such a degree, compared to 18.8 percent nationally.

| In 2007, the state's per capita income was $29,293, the second-lowest in the nation. The state has ranked 49th in per capita income in all but nine years since 1979.

| From 1979 to 2007, the national rate of job growth was 1.5 percent annually. West Virginia's was about one-third of the national average.

| Between 2005 and 2007, 53.1 percent of the state's private sector workforce had employer-provided health insurance, compared to 55.1 percent nationally. During the same period, 46.6 percent of all private sector workers in the state had employer-provided pensions.

| Union coverage is down from 19.6 percent in 1989 to 13.4 percent in 2007 -- still above the national average.

| The state's median income is rising, but still ranks low. The state's median income average was $40,800 during 2006-07, up from $35,082 in 2000-01. Nationally, the median was $50,007 during 2000-01 and $49,901 in 2006-07.

| The poverty rate is still high -- 15 percent in 2006-07 -- but down from a high of 22.2 percent in 1992-93.

 | Low and middle-income families are hit the hardest by taxes. Middle-income West Virginians -- those earning $24,000 to $41,000 annually -- paid the biggest part of their income in taxes.

The report offers several solutions, including:

| A refundable state earned income tax credit, which would benefit about 145,000 West Virginia households.

| Greater accountability in economic development policies including establishing provisions to get back public money from companies that receive state dollars, but fail to create quality jobs.

| Better and more affordable education.

| Adequate public investment in the basics such as good roads, clean water and sewer systems and the expansion of high-speed Internet.

| Better access to health care by possibly raising Medicaid eligibility threshold.

| More access to paid sick days through policy and public/private partnerships.

| A higher minimum wage.

| A universal voluntary system of retirement accounts financed by payroll deductions which workers could retain as they move from job to job.

| Investment in green jobs.

| More research to identify obstacles to employment and provide positive work incentives.

"While economic hardship has frequently been the lot of West Virginia's workers, it need not be their fate," according to the report.