CHARLESTON, WV – The United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis reported today that West Virginia led the nation in personal income growth for the 1st Quarter of 2019 with a 5.6% growth rate.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross tweeted a congratulatory message this morning:
“Congratulations to #WestVirginia and @WVGovernor Justice for having the highest Q1 personal income growth (5.6%) in the country with the 2nd highest earnings increase, but also the 4th lowest increase in government benefits income in the nation.”
– @SecretaryRoss
Gov. Jim Justice released the following statement:
“How much more proof do we need that our days of being dead 50th are long gone? To be the top state in the entire country for personal income growth – truly think about that, number one in the country – it’s absolutely phenomenal,” Gov. Justice said. “Some people only want to talk about the bad and didn’t believe it when I announced we had the 2nd-highest overall revenue growth rate in the country. But now, there is even more proof – from the U.S. Department of Commerce – that our economy is growing faster every day and we’re getting our people great-paying jobs right here in West Virginia.
“Now people may finally start believing me when I say we have so much good going on in our state it’s unbelievable,” Gov. Justice said. “Our tourism numbers are growing right along with our economy – we just reached 26 million people through social media for the state’s birthday – and it’s only getting better, we are fixing our roads and helping our veterans like we never have before. It’s time for the outside world to finally recognize that West Virginians are not going to tolerate being dead last anymore. Congratulations to all of our people on this incredible accomplishment!”
Construction was the leading contributor to the earnings increase in West Virginia. View the BEA’s full news release at the following link: