The Poynter Institute Menu Donate State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin Issues * All Issues * Online hoaxes * Coronavirus * Health Care * Immigration * Extremism * Taxes * Marijuana * Environment * Crime * Guns * Foreign Policy * LGBTQ+ People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis Media * PunditFact * Tucker Carlson * Sean Hannity * Rachel Maddow * Bloggers * PolitiFact Videos Campaigns * 2024 Elections Truth-o-Meter * True * Mostly True * Half True * Mostly False * False * Pants on Fire Promises * Biden Promise Tracker * Trump-O-Meter * Obameter * Latest Promises About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Suggest a Fact-check * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters Donate #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up English Español ### Get PolitiFact in your inbox. * Weekly Email Newsletter * Daily Email Newsletter Your Email Address Sign Up ![](\\" Gee-Official-Portrait/0bf0235a7027f9841c84e093ad4da9f2.jpg\\") ![](\\" Gee-Official-Portrait/905bd216092e077ee835ed097d552730.jpg\\") E. Gordon Gee stated on January 14, 2019 in an op-ed: West Virginia has \"the nation’s lowest workforce participation rate, which hovers around 50 percent, when the national average is about 63 percent.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" true/3d4df195c595a07e3fd69b5e4aab3e3c.jpg.\\") ![\\"true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * West Virginia * Economy * Jobs * Workers * E. Gordon Gee ![\\"West](\\" West Virginia University president Gordon Gee in 2013. (AP) By Erica Anderson February 27, 2019 By Molly DeCarli February 27, 2019 # Does West Virginia have the nation\'s lowest workforce participation rate? Is workforce participation lower in West Virginia than in any state? That’s what West Virginia University president Gordon Gee wrote in a recent op-ed. Gee’s Jan. 14 column in the State Journal newspaper was titled, \"An effective education system is key to West Virginia’s future.\" In the column, Gee wrote, \"As I often point out, our state does not have a job problem. It has a skills problem that leaves many high-paying jobs unfilled. We have the nation’s lowest workforce participation rate, which hovers around 50 percent, when the national average is about 63 percent.\" Is this claim accurate? We took a closer look. What is West Virginia’s workforce participation rate? Economists say the most appropriate statistic in this case is the civilian labor force participation rate, which is calculated on a regular basis by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The statistic takes the number of people who are employed, adds it to the number of unemployed people who are looking for work, and divides the sum by the total population that is at least 16 years of age, not serving on active duty in the military, and not institutionalized in a facility such as a prison or a long-term-care home. The most recent data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from December 2018, showed that West Virginia had a civilian labor force participation rate of 53.9 percent. The figure didn’t deviate much throughout 2018, ranging from 53.7 percent to 54 percent depending on the month. The past five years also looked similar to 2018. The average workforce participation rate in 2018 was 53.9 percent. In 2017 it was 53.3 percent, in 2016 it was 53.1 percent, in 2015 it was 52.8 percent, and in 2014 it was 53.1 percent. He would have been a little closer using a similar, but distinct, statistic known as the employment-population ratio. This statistic takes the number of employed people and divides it by the same overall population used in the civilian labor force participation rate. In West Virginia, that was 51.2 percent in December 2018, and was close to that during 2018. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview on NBC\'s \"Meet the Press\" “Anything that you lose on the tariff from the perspective of the consumer, you gain in higher wages, so you\'re ultimately much better off.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • August 29, 2024 So for this part of his statement, Gee was close, and he did say \"around 50 percent,\" which gives him some wiggle room. Is West Virginia’s rate the lowest in the nation? West Virginia did indeed have the lowest civilian labor force participation rate in the nation in December 2018. The next-closest state was Mississippi, with 55.8 percent. And the pattern was much the same for the rest of 2018. In fact, West Virginia has \"remained in the lowest spot since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics began reporting the series on a consistent basis in 1976,\" said Brian Lego, research assistant professor at West Virginia University’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research. Is the national average about 63 percent? The national civilian labor force participation rate was 63.1 percent in December 2018, after rising from a low of 62.7 percent earlier in the year. So Gee is on target with his statement that the national rate was \"about 63 percent.\" Why does West Virginia fare so poorly in these measurements? Lego said there are a range of factors that explain the state’s weak performance. \"The big picture reasons are related to human capital deficiencies such as lack of skills needed for jobs available,\" he said. He also cited poor health, drug abuse, and a large number of elderly residents in West Virginia. Our ruling Gee said, \"We have the nation’s lowest workforce participation rate, which hovers around 50 percent, when the national average is about 63 percent.\" He was very close on all three elements of the statement, and he gave himself some breathing room by using the words \"around\" and \"about.\" We rate his statement True. Share the Facts 2019-02-27 16:25:59 UTC PolitiFact ![\\"PolitiFact\\"](\\" 6 1 7 ![\\"PolitiFact](\\" true.png\\") PolitiFact Rating: True West Virginia has \"the nation’s lowest workforce participation rate, which hovers around 50 percent, when the national average is about 63 percent.\" Gordon Gee WVU president key-to-west-virginia-s/article_7bf79501-6361-5c1c-addb-fb64ed9a831a.html ![](\\" gee.JPG\\") an op-ed Monday, January 14, 2019 2019-01-14 Read More info #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Gordon Gee, \"An effective education system is key to West Virginia\'s future\", Jan. 14, 2019 Bureau of Labor Statistics, \"states and selected areas: employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population, January 1976 to date,\" accessed Feb. 25, 2019 Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate data, accessed Feb. 25, 2019 Email interview with Brian Lego, research assistant professor at West Virginia University’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Feb. 20, 2019 Email interview with John Bolt, senior executive director of communications at West Virginia University, Feb. 20, 2019 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Erica Anderson ![](\\" ![](\\" Andrew Byrd stated on February 25, 2019 in a legislative debate: \"The states that have passed (campus carry laws) have seen enrollment drop significantly.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Erica Anderson • April 16, 2019 ![](\\" Gee-Official-Portrait/0bf0235a7027f9841c84e093ad4da9f2.jpg\\") ![](\\" Gee-Official-Portrait/905bd216092e077ee835ed097d552730.jpg\\") E. Gordon Gee stated on January 14, 2019 in an op-ed: West Virginia has \"the nation’s lowest workforce participation rate, which hovers around 50 percent, when the national average is about 63 percent.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Erica Anderson • February 27, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Shelley Moore Capito stated on January 3, 2019 in an op-ed: \"Our economy is growing at its fastest pace in nearly four years. Unemployment is at an all-time low.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Erica Anderson • February 4, 2019 ### Does West Virginia have the nation\'s lowest workforce participation rate? * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: A video shows a body that Israel embedded with a bomb exploding during a Palestinian funeral procession. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in a post: “ESPN has fired Shannon Sharpe.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Gideon Hess • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a post on Threads: An image shows Travis Kelce responding to Elon Musk X post that followed Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: Former President Donald Trump admitted during the Sept. 10 presidential debate that he “blew up the Nord Stream pipeline.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 10, 2024 in a Facebook post: Patron, Don Julio and Pink Whitney tequila recalled because they contained fecal matter. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 11, 2024 in a TV ad: Mike Rogers supported “laws that could eliminate IVF and birth control.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post: \"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a Facebook post: ABC News fired presidential debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Yes on 4 stated on September 10, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s six-week abortion law has “no real exceptions. 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West Virginia has the nation’s lowest workforce participation rate which hovers around 50 percent when the national average is about 63 percent