WV'S LOSS OF MANUFACTURING JOBS CRUSHING OPPORTUNITY

(09/03/2013)

Lost manufacturing jobs led to lower wages, report says   By David Gutman for the Charleston Gazette The collapse of the steel industry in the 1980s and the resulting losses in manufacturing and mining have left West Virginians with fewer good-paying jobs and wages lagging behind the national average, according to a new report from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. The sixth annual The State of Working West Virginia report looks at jobs in the state through the lens of Weirton Steel, which in 1979 was the state's largest private employer, and Walmart which is the state's largest private employer today. The WVCBP, a left-leaning think tank, makes the case that as manufacturing jobs gave way to retail and service sector jobs in West Virginia and around the country, workers have seen pay and benefits stall and income inequality soar. "Over the past 30 years, working families in West Virginia have been squeezed by stagnating wages and fewer opportunities, along with the rising cost of living," Sean O'Leary, one of the report's co-authors, said in a statement. "Today's workers in West Virginia are more educated and experienced than ever, but they are seeing less of the benefits of their work." ... Read the rest of story   Lost manufacturing jobs led to lower wages, report says   By David Gutman for the Charleston Gazette

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