WV CATCHES UP WITH USA IN UNEMPLOYMENT

(07/14/2009)
Thousands of West Virginians have lost their jobs in June.

The state has nearly caught up with the national unemployment rate at 9.5%.

The sate rate last month was 9.4%, according to WORKFORCE West Virginia.

The national unemployment rate is higher than it has been in 26 years.

It's a rate that's just slightly less than the national unemployment rate.

More than 3,700 West Virginia jobs have been lost in the service providing sector in June.

The current recession adds insult to injury with the job market, tens of thousands of state jobs have already shifted abroad, many of them minimum wage to $10 per hour jobs.

In the past year, Workforce says more than 22,000 jobs have been cut in West Virginia, with the state's unemployment rate increasing for the tenth consecutive month.