West Virginia's Labor Participation Rate 49.8% : Unemployment Rate 6.3%?

The devil is in the details here. When we see that half of eligible workers are not working we know the system is broken no matter what the statistics say. The same thing is true for the national unemployment figures that indicated the rate continues to fall even when the number of those not working continues to increase.

The worst part is so many among us continue to believe the unbelievable. This sort thing will destroy us.

West Virginia's Labor Force Participation Rate Falls Below 50 Percent
Source: Steve Goldstein, "The only state where less than half its civilians work," MarketWatch, January 14, 2015.

January 15, 2015

The only state in the country to have a labor force participation rate below 50 percent is West Virginia, whose rate fell to 49.8 percent in November, according to Steve Goldstein at Market Watch. That means that less than half of its citizens are working or looking for work.

Goldstein notes that Mississippi's rate is just slightly higher, at 50.8 percent. Meanwhile, the national labor force participation rate is 62.7 percent. Which state has the highest labor force participation rate? North Dakota, whose rate sits at 69.5 percent thanks to fracking and the oil and gas boom.
While West Virginia's unemployment rate is at 6.3 percent, lower than several other states, 17.6 percent of West Virginians are of working age but are receiving disability benefits. This is a much higher rate than the national average, which is 10.4 percent.