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ALICE in the Labor Force
Workers below the ALICE Threshold increasingly bear the brunt of economic change and uncertainty as the workforce shifts to incorporate new technology and automation and as employers increase reliance on non-standard work arrangements — like hourly paid work, part-time employment, and gig work. These arrangements make it easier to reduce work hours or cut employment altogether when the economy ebbs (which happened to a large degree during the COVID-19 pandemic) and expand them when demand increases (which happens seasonally for a range of industries such as hospitality, recreation, and retail sales).
Common Jobs in West Virginia Have a High Percentage of ALICE Workers
A key contributor to the number of ALICE households in West Virginia is the fundamental mismatch between the cost of living and what jobs pay.
Top Occupations, Employment, Wages, and Percentage Below ALICE Threshold, West Virginia, 2023
Sources: ALICE Threshold, 2023; Bureau of Labor Statistics—Occupational Employment Statistics, 2023; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, PUMS, 2023
ALICE Workers Face Economic Risks
Full-time salaried work brings greater financial stability, yet increasingly, workers below the ALICE Threshold serve as the reservoir for the labor force — in West Virginia and across the U.S. — through work arrangements that leave them with more economic risk and fewer job protections. Following the Great Recession, employers have increasingly relied on hourly paid, part-time, at-will, and project-based employees, making it easier to reduce workers’ hours or cut their employment altogether when the economy ebbs (which happened to a large degree when the pandemic hit) and expand them when demand increases (which happens seasonally for a range of industries such as travel, recreation, and retail sales).
Workers who are paid by the hour are also more likely to have fluctuations in income due to frequent schedule changes and variable hours, and they are less likely to receive benefits, such as health insurance, paid time off, family leave, or retirement benefits.
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Labor Status, Population 16 and Over, West Virginia, 2023
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Data for hourly full- and part-time jobs is only available at the national level; these national rates have been applied to the workforce at the county-level to calculate the breakdown shown in this figure. Because the labor status figure sums county-level data (some using 1-year estimates and some using 5-year estimates), the state percentages may differ slightly from those shown at the state level. Full-time represents 35 hours per week or more at one or more jobs for 48 weeks per year.
American Community Survey, 2023; Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 2023
ALICE in the Labor Force
Workers below the ALICE Threshold increasingly bear the brunt of economic change and uncertainty as the workforce shifts to incorporate new technology and automation and as employers increase reliance on non-standard work arrangements — like hourly paid work, part-time employment, and gig work. These arrangements make it easier to reduce work hours or cut employment altogether when the economy ebbs (which happened to a large degree during the COVID-19 pandemic) and expand them when demand increases (which happens seasonally for a range of industries such as hospitality, recreation, and retail sales).
Common Jobs in West Virginia Have a High Percentage of ALICE Workers
A key contributor to the number of ALICE households in West Virginia is the fundamental mismatch between the cost of living and what jobs pay.
Top Occupations, Employment, Wages, and Percentage Below ALICE Threshold, West Virginia, 2023
Full-time salaried work brings greater financial stability, yet increasingly, workers below the ALICE Threshold serve as the reservoir for the labor force — in West Virginia and across the U.S. — through work arrangements that leave them with more economic risk and fewer job protections. Following the Great Recession, employers have increasingly relied on hourly paid, part-time, at-will, and project-based employees, making it easier to reduce workers’ hours or cut their employment altogether when the economy ebbs (which happened to a large degree when the pandemic hit) and expand them when demand increases (which happens seasonally for a range of industries such as travel, recreation, and retail sales).
Workers who are paid by the hour are also more likely to have fluctuations in income due to frequent schedule changes and variable hours, and they are less likely to receive benefits, such as health insurance, paid time off, family leave, or retirement benefits.
Labor Status, Population 16 and Over, West Virginia, 2023
