Jobs in the Morgantown metropolitan area are forecast to continue to grow this year, in contrast to large job losses for the state and nation, according to a forecast released today (April 16) at the Morgantown Economic Outlook conference.


The annual conference is sponsored by the West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Research in the College of Business and Economics.


The Morgantown metropolitan statistical area (MSA) economy continues to be a force for growth in the state,said George W. Hammond, associate director of the BBER .However, it will feel some of the impact of the national recession.


The metropolitan area includes Monongalia and Preston counties.


During the past year, the Morgantown MSA added 1,710 jobsby far the most of any region in the state. In addition, that job growth translates into a growth rate of 2.8 percent, which far outpaces the state (+0.4 percent) and the nation (-0.4 percent).


Overall, Morgantown has remained remarkably robust in the face of a severe global and national downturn,Hammond said.


In part, that happened because of the local employment mix. Employment in Morgantown is concentrated in health care and government (especially state government jobs related to WVU ). These jobs tend to be less sensitivebut not immuneto national and/or global business cycle trends.


The forecast for the Morgantown MSA calls for continued job gains next year, even as the state and the nation post significant job losses. Job growth is forecast to average 1.2 percent on average during the 2009-13 period, which is slower than average growth during the previous five-year period. In part, this is related to sluggish world and U.S. growth, which tends to slow down local growth as well.


While most of the net job gains in the Morgantown MSA arise in service-providing sectors (especially health care, government and leisure and hospitality), the region is expected to post job gains in the goods-producing sectors as well.


Continuedbut slowerjob growth means that the Morgantown unemployment rate will likely rise, but stay relatively low compared to the state and national average. Job gains also contribute to continued inflation-adjusted income growth, with the Morgantown MSA expected to post faster growth than either the state or the nation. The Morgantown MSA is also expected to continue to add residents during the next five years at rates far above the state average.


Full details are available in the Morgantown MSA forecast publication, which is available online at http://www.be.wvu.edu/bber/ .