Ohio County vs. West Virginia
Comparative Trends Analysis:
Total Employment Growth and Change, 1969-2022
Introduction
Ohio County vs. West Virginia
Ohio County:
2022 Jobs = 34,434
2022 Percent of State = 3.87%
West Virginia:
2022 Jobs = 890,610
2022 Percent of U.S. = 0.42%
Employment numbers remain the most popular and frequently cited statistics used for tracking local area economic conditions and trends. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) employment estimates reported measure the number of full- and part-time wage and salary employees, plus the number of proprietors of unincorporated businesses. People holding more than one job are counted in the employment estimates for each job they hold. This means BEA employment estimates represent a job count, not a people count. Also, BEA employment is by place-of-work, rather than by place-of-residence. Jobs held by neighboring county residents who commute to Ohio County to work are included in the employment count for Ohio County.
Data Definition:
The BEA employment series for states and local areas comprises estimates of the number of jobs, full-time plus part-time, by place of work. Full-time and part-time jobs are counted at equal weight. Employees, sole proprietors, and active partners are included, but unpaid family workers and volunteers are not included. Proprietors employment consists of the number of sole proprietorships and the number of partners in partnerships. The description "by place of work" applies to the wage and salary portion of the series and, with relatively little error, to the entire series. The proprietors employment portion of the series, however, is more nearly by place of residence because, for nonfarm sole proprietorships, the estimates are based on IRS tax data that reflect the address from which the proprietor's individual tax return is filed, which is usually the proprietor's residence. The nonfarm partnership portion of the proprietors employment series reflects the tax-filing address of the partnership, which may be either the residence of one of the partners or the business address of the partnership. The employment estimates are designed to be consistent with the estimates of wages and salaries and proprietors' income that are part of the personal income series. The employment estimates are based on the same sets of source data as the corresponding earnings estimates and are prepared with parallel methodologies. Two forms of proprietors' income-the income of limited partnerships and the income of tax-exempt cooperatives-have no corresponding employment estimates.
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 1.
Figure 1 tracks Ohio County's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, Ohio County's total employment rose from 31,652 in 1969 to 34,434 in 2022, for a net gain of 2,782, or 8.79%.
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Total Employment, 1969-2022
Figure 2.
Figure 2 tracks West Virginia's annual total employment for the period 1969-2022 to illustrate total employment patterns over time. During this 54-year period, West Virginia's total employment rose from 651,782 in 1969 to 890,610 in 2022, for a net gain of 238,828, or 36.64%.
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Total Employment Indices (1969=100): 1969-2022
Figure 3.
Figure 3 shows Ohio County's total employment growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with West Virginia, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's total employment in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the total employments in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in total employment growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.
Ohio County's overall total employment growth was 8.79% over 1969-2022 trailed West Virginia's increase of 36.64%, and fell below the United States' increase of 133.32%.
Total Employment as a Percent of the West Virginia Total: 1969-2022
Total Employment as a Percent of the West Virginia Total: 1969-2022
Figure 4.
Another interesting and insightful way of highlighting the total employment growth of Ohio County is to compare its individual percentage contributions to West Virginia's statewide total employment over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's total employment grew faster, or declined less, than West Virginia's total employment, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.
In 1969, Ohio County's total employment comprised 4.86% of West Virginia's total employment, while in 2022 it comprised 3.87% thereby yielding a -0.99% share-shift.
   
 
Total Employment Share-Shift
2022 vs. 1969
 
Share-
Shift*
 
2022
vs.
1969
-0.99%
=
3.87%
-
4.86%
 
   
Ohio County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Ohio County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change, 1970-2022
Figure 5.
Figure 5 highlights the short-run pattern of Ohio County's total employment growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2022. The average annual percent change for the entire 53-year period is also traced on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.
On average, Ohio County's total employment grew at an annual rate of 0.18% over 1970-2022. The county recorded its highest growth in 1973 (3.96%) and recorded its lowest growth in 2020 (-6.72%). In 2022, Ohio County's total employment grew by 1.71%
Ohio County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Ohio County Total Employment:
Annual Percent Change and Decade Averages Over 1970-2022
Figure 6.
Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again illustrates the annual percent change in Ohio County's total employment since 1970, but this time they are overlayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2022.
During the 1970s, Ohio County's annual total employment growth rate averaged 1.02%. It averaged -1.39% throughout the 1980s, 1.12% during the 1990s, 0.78% in the 2000s, -0.40% during the 2010s, -0.51% thus far this decade (2020-2022).
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change by Decade
Figure 7.
Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Ohio County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for West Virginia and the nation. As the chart reveals, Ohio County's average annual total employment growth posted below West Virginia's average during the 1970s (1.02% vs. 1.95%), fell below West Virginia's average in the 1980s (-1.39% vs. -0.42%), amounted to less than West Virginia's average during the 1990s (1.12% vs. 1.38%), outperformed West Virginia's average during the 2000s (0.78% vs. 0.36%), posted below West Virginia's average during the 2010s (-0.40% vs. -0.19%), and fell below West Virginia's average over the 3 year period of the current decade, 2020-2022 (-0.51% vs. 0.40%).
Finally, relative to nationwide total employment growth trends, Ohio County posted below the nation over the 1970s (1.02% vs. 2.21%), lagged the nation during the 1980s (-1.39% vs. 1.88%), posted below the nation in the 1990s (1.12% vs. 1.73%), outperformed the nation in the 2000s (0.78% vs. 0.74%), trailed the nation over the 2010s (-0.40% vs. 1.51%), and posted below the nation over 2020-2022 (-0.51% vs. 1.82%).
   
 
Total Employment Growth:
Average Annual Percent Change
 
 
 
0.18
1.02
-1.39
1.12
0.78
-0.40
-0.51
1.71
 
0.60
1.95
-0.42
1.38
0.36
-0.19
0.40
3.02
 
1.62
2.21
1.88
1.73
0.74
1.51
1.82
4.78
 
   
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population): 1969-2022
Figure 8.
The job ratios shown in Figure 8 for Ohio County, West Virginia and the nation not only portray a number of important trends, they also serves as a thumbnail guide to evaluating an economy's capacity to generate enough jobs fast enough to absorb the increasing number of workers attendant to a growing population. The job ratio is the number of full-time and part-time jobs by place of work, divided by population.
Nationally, the job ratio rose from 0.45 to 0.64 between 1969 and 2022. Ohio County's job ratio registered 0.50 in 1969, and 0.83 in 2022. Underlying the rising job ratio over the past several decades have been the increases in the labor force participation rates, with the number and proportion of women in the labor market playing a leading role.
An assortment of other factors can contribute to regional differences in the job ratio. They include differences in the proportion of elderly and retirees who no longer work and participate in the labor force, differences in the number and proportion of part-time vs. full-time workers, differences in industry composition, and differences in age and sex distribution and degree of urbanization. Also, a disproportionate number of workers commuting to work outside a county tends to lower its local county job ratio, while a net inflow of workers commuting to work inside the county tends to augment its local county job ratio.
Avoid interpreting the job ratio as the fraction (or percent) of the local population employed. This interpretation should only apply to the "employment-population ratio" statistic compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from the Current Population Survey (CPS).
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Job Ratios (Employment/Population)
as a Percent of the U.S. Average:
1969-2022
Figure 9.
To highlight trends in a local job ratio relative to nationwide trends, Figure 9 tracks Ohio County's, West Virginia's job ratio as a percent of the national job ratio over 1969-2022.

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
Ohio County:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
31,652
100.0
N
4.86
0.50
111.25
1970
 
32,481
102.6
2.62
4.92
0.51
114.30
1971
 
32,420
102.4
-0.19
4.84
0.50
113.93
1972
 
32,338
102.2
-0.25
4.73
0.50
111.81
1973
 
33,619
106.2
3.96
4.80
0.53
113.21
1974
 
33,661
106.3
0.12
4.73
0.54
114.11
1975
 
33,233
105.0
-1.27
4.63
0.53
116.08
1976
 
33,762
106.7
1.59
4.57
0.54
114.92
1977
 
35,061
110.8
3.85
4.63
0.56
117.49
1978
 
35,943
113.6
2.52
4.60
0.58
116.81
1979
 
34,945
110.4
-2.78
4.42
0.56
112.03
1980
 
34,160
107.9
-2.25
4.37
0.56
111.01
1981
 
33,022
104.3
-3.33
4.34
0.54
107.90
1982
 
31,736
100.3
-3.89
4.29
0.53
107.17
1983
 
30,382
96.0
-4.27
4.21
0.52
104.24
1984
 
30,070
95.0
-1.03
4.11
0.52
102.45
1985
 
29,584
93.5
-1.62
4.04
0.53
101.59
1986
 
29,184
92.2
-1.35
3.99
0.54
101.85
1987
 
29,776
94.1
2.03
4.03
0.56
104.10
1988
 
30,512
96.4
2.47
4.07
0.58
106.12
1989
 
30,307
95.8
-0.67
4.00
0.59
106.18
1990
 
30,941
97.8
2.09
3.98
0.61
109.98
1991
 
30,726
97.1
-0.69
3.95
0.61
112.20
1992
 
30,762
97.2
0.12
3.90
0.61
113.33
1993
 
31,834
100.6
3.48
3.97
0.63
117.05
1994
 
32,792
103.6
3.01
3.99
0.66
119.83
1995
 
33,742
106.6
2.90
4.02
0.68
122.46
1996
 
34,367
108.6
1.85
4.06
0.70
124.58
1997
 
34,410
108.7
0.13
4.01
0.71
125.18
1998
 
35,018
110.6
1.77
4.03
0.73
126.63
1999
 
33,822
106.9
-3.42
3.90
0.71
122.38
2000
 
33,976
107.3
0.46
3.88
0.72
122.45
2001
 
34,348
108.5
1.09
3.94
0.74
126.80
2002
 
34,607
109.3
0.75
3.97
0.75
130.33
2003
 
33,857
107.0
-2.17
3.90
0.74
129.50
2004
 
34,444
108.8
1.73
3.92
0.76
131.50
2005
 
35,126
111.0
1.98
3.94
0.78
133.51
2006
 
35,569
112.4
1.26
3.94
0.79
134.33
2007
 
35,944
113.6
1.05
3.93
0.80
134.87
2008
 
36,840
116.4
2.49
4.01
0.83
140.57
2009
 
36,529
115.4
-0.84
4.06
0.82
145.50
2010
 
36,424
115.1
-0.29
4.05
0.82
146.44
2011
 
36,171
114.3
-0.69
3.98
0.82
144.41
2012
 
36,527
115.4
0.98
3.97
0.83
144.91
2013
 
36,526
115.4
0.00
4.00
0.83
143.80
2014
 
36,263
114.6
-0.72
3.98
0.83
142.09
2015
 
36,082
114.0
-0.50
3.99
0.83
139.94
2016
 
35,959
113.6
-0.34
4.04
0.83
139.11
2017
 
35,440
112.0
-1.44
3.99
0.83
137.52
2018
 
35,659
112.7
0.62
3.97
0.83
136.87
2019
 
35,075
110.8
-1.64
3.98
0.82
134.77
2020
 
32,719
103.4
-6.72
3.89
0.77
131.19
2021
 
33,856
107.0
3.48
3.92
0.81
132.39
2022
 
34,434
108.8
1.71
3.87
0.83
130.34
Source: Calculations by the West Virginia Regional Economic Analysis Project (WV-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
West Virginia:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
651,782
100.0
N
0.72
0.37
82.53
1970
 
659,514
101.2
1.19
0.72
0.38
84.31
1971
 
669,717
102.8
1.55
0.73
0.38
85.44
1972
 
683,606
104.9
2.07
0.72
0.38
84.42
1973
 
699,804
107.4
2.37
0.71
0.39
83.24
1974
 
711,453
109.2
1.66
0.71
0.39
83.57
1975
 
717,096
110.0
0.79
0.73
0.39
84.88
1976
 
739,036
113.4
3.06
0.73
0.39
84.30
1977
 
757,752
116.3
2.53
0.72
0.40
83.19
1978
 
780,911
119.8
3.06
0.71
0.41
82.34
1979
 
790,391
121.3
1.21
0.70
0.41
80.90
1980
 
782,029
120.0
-1.06
0.69
0.40
79.89
1981
 
761,627
116.9
-2.61
0.66
0.39
77.83
1982
 
740,403
113.6
-2.79
0.65
0.38
77.06
1983
 
721,543
110.7
-2.55
0.62
0.37
74.99
1984
 
732,296
112.4
1.49
0.61
0.38
74.33
1985
 
731,881
112.3
-0.06
0.59
0.38
73.77
1986
 
731,131
112.2
-0.10
0.58
0.39
73.89
1987
 
738,242
113.3
0.97
0.57
0.40
74.33
1988
 
750,513
115.1
1.66
0.56
0.41
75.07
1989
 
757,104
116.2
0.88
0.56
0.42
75.96
1990
 
777,862
119.3
2.74
0.56
0.43
78.31
1991
 
778,768
119.5
0.12
0.57
0.43
79.59
1992
 
789,331
121.1
1.36
0.57
0.44
81.12
1993
 
801,180
122.9
1.50
0.57
0.44
81.39
1994
 
822,272
126.2
2.63
0.57
0.45
82.42
1995
 
838,499
128.6
1.97
0.57
0.46
82.77
1996
 
846,838
129.9
0.99
0.56
0.46
82.85
1997
 
858,297
131.7
1.35
0.56
0.47
83.24
1998
 
868,370
133.2
1.17
0.55
0.48
83.25
1999
 
868,236
133.2
-0.02
0.54
0.48
82.78
2000
 
875,561
134.3
0.84
0.53
0.48
82.67
2001
 
872,546
133.9
-0.34
0.53
0.48
83.39
2002
 
871,215
133.7
-0.15
0.53
0.48
84.07
2003
 
868,312
133.2
-0.33
0.52
0.48
83.77
2004
 
879,273
134.9
1.26
0.52
0.48
83.95
2005
 
890,760
136.7
1.31
0.52
0.49
83.90
2006
 
902,913
138.5
1.36
0.51
0.49
83.81
2007
 
915,643
140.5
1.41
0.51
0.50
83.76
2008
 
918,376
140.9
0.30
0.51
0.50
84.68
2009
 
899,067
137.9
-2.10
0.52
0.49
85.96
2010
 
899,510
138.0
0.05
0.52
0.49
86.79
2011
 
909,060
139.5
1.06
0.52
0.49
86.68
2012
 
918,958
141.0
1.09
0.51
0.49
86.83
2013
 
914,247
140.3
-0.51
0.50
0.49
85.54
2014
 
911,678
139.9
-0.28
0.49
0.49
84.34
2015
 
904,270
138.7
-0.81
0.48
0.49
82.82
2016
 
890,209
136.6
-1.55
0.46
0.48
81.31
2017
 
888,822
136.4
-0.16
0.45
0.49
81.10
2018
 
898,085
137.8
1.04
0.45
0.50
81.36
2019
 
881,634
135.3
-1.83
0.44
0.49
80.20
2020
 
840,864
129.0
-4.62
0.43
0.47
79.68
2021
 
864,509
132.6
2.81
0.43
0.48
79.29
2022
 
890,610
136.6
3.02
0.42
0.50
78.71
Source: Calculations by the West Virginia Regional Economic Analysis Project (WV-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PSN
 
   

Interactive TableTip: To augment your analysis click on the column headers in the following table to rank and/or sort the data.

   
 
United States:
Total Employment, 1969-2022
 
1969
 
91,053,200
100.0
N
0.45
1970
 
91,277,600
100.2
0.25
0.45
1971
 
91,581,400
100.6
0.33
0.44
1972
 
94,312,200
103.6
2.98
0.45
1973
 
98,427,500
108.1
4.36
0.47
1974
 
100,111,800
109.9
1.71
0.47
1975
 
98,900,600
108.6
-1.21
0.46
1976
 
101,591,200
111.6
2.72
0.47
1977
 
105,042,200
115.4
3.40
0.48
1978
 
109,686,600
120.5
4.42
0.49
1979
 
113,147,100
124.3
3.15
0.50
1980
 
113,983,200
125.2
0.74
0.50
1981
 
114,914,000
126.2
0.82
0.50
1982
 
114,163,300
125.4
-0.65
0.49
1983
 
115,645,700
127.0
1.30
0.49
1984
 
120,528,100
132.4
4.22
0.51
1985
 
123,796,700
136.0
2.71
0.52
1986
 
126,232,300
138.6
1.97
0.53
1987
 
129,548,400
142.3
2.63
0.53
1988
 
133,563,900
146.7
3.10
0.55
1989
 
136,177,800
149.6
1.96
0.55
1990
 
138,330,900
151.9
1.58
0.55
1991
 
137,612,800
151.1
-0.52
0.54
1992
 
138,166,100
151.7
0.40
0.54
1993
 
140,774,400
154.6
1.89
0.54
1994
 
144,196,600
158.4
2.43
0.55
1995
 
147,915,800
162.4
2.58
0.56
1996
 
151,056,200
165.9
2.12
0.56
1997
 
154,541,200
169.7
2.31
0.57
1998
 
158,481,200
174.1
2.55
0.57
1999
 
161,531,300
177.4
1.92
0.58
2000
 
165,370,800
181.6
2.38
0.59
2001
 
165,522,200
181.8
0.09
0.58
2002
 
165,095,100
181.3
-0.26
0.57
2003
 
165,921,500
182.2
0.50
0.57
2004
 
168,839,700
185.4
1.76
0.58
2005
 
172,338,400
189.3
2.07
0.58
2006
 
175,868,600
193.1
2.05
0.59
2007
 
179,543,700
197.2
2.09
0.60
2008
 
179,213,900
196.8
-0.18
0.59
2009
 
173,636,700
190.7
-3.11
0.57
2010
 
172,901,700
189.9
-0.42
0.56
2011
 
176,091,700
193.4
1.84
0.56
2012
 
178,979,700
196.6
1.64
0.57
2013
 
182,328,100
200.2
1.87
0.58
2014
 
186,239,800
204.5
2.15
0.58
2015
 
190,325,800
209.0
2.19
0.59
2016
 
193,425,900
212.4
1.63
0.60
2017
 
196,394,100
215.7
1.53
0.60
2018
 
200,292,200
220.0
1.98
0.61
2019
 
201,635,200
221.4
0.67
0.61
2020
 
195,286,600
214.5
-3.15
0.59
2021
 
202,752,100
222.7
3.82
0.61
2022
 
212,442,000
233.3
4.78
0.64
Source: Calculations by the West Virginia Regional Economic Analysis Project (WV-REAP)
with data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
November 2023
REAP_PI_CA1400_1000_PN
 
   
Copyright © 2023. Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Analysis Project (PNREAP). All Rights Reserved.

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