West Virginia: Job Growth Spurt Comes Naturally
According to iStock Analyst:
Jul. 14--On any given WVU football Saturday, Morgantown is still No. 1. But the fact is we are encouraged to simply know we are now the fourth-largest city in the state -- on any given day. That's up a notch from our previous spot behind Wheeling. Yet, a city's ranking and numbers are not nearly as important as how and why it got there. No one needs to cite the reasons for our growth. The burgeoning enrollment figures at WVU that are now pushing 30,000 students; the consistent lowest jobless rate in the state; and certainly the local economy. It's not just the building and expansion at the university or the hospitals, either. Housing, office buildings, public schools and businesses are also integral in our growth. New students, new jobs and new investments all factor into this equation.
However, what the U.S. Census Bureau doesn't chart is that, by and large, we have reached this new ranking without sacrificing our way of life. Oh, we haven't forgotten our traffic woes and how aggravating they are to commuters, commercial drivers and those of us who live here. Nor are we ignorant of the abuses that have gone into some of the developments that have sprung up to accommodate this growth. If these knocks on our city have the ring of familiarity to them, you're no doubt remembering sitting in the parking lot we call Beechurst Avenue or the appalling locations of some new apartment buildings. Yet, when we look again at what our city has to offer it's no surprise people want to move here and raise a family. Almost every industry is providing more jobs throughout Morgantown. Monongalia County has added 11,100 jobs to the area so far this year.... click to continue.
