MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The forecast for job growth in Morgantown looks good.
On Tuesday, officials with West Virginia University’s Bureau of Business and Economic released their predictions for Morgantown’s economy during the Morgantown Economic Outlook Conference at Waterfront Place and that forecast continued the positive economic trend for the University City.
“Here in Morgantown, our economy looks really strong compared to the state and compared to the nation as a whole,” John Deskins, director of the WVU Bureau of Business and Economic Research, told MetroNews Affiliate WAJR-AM in Morgantown.
“We expect Morgantown’s economy to continue to build upon recent gains, posting close to two percent job growth annually in the coming years, which makes the area one of West Virginia’s strongest economic regions.”
Deskins said the largest contributor to regional job growth has been the health care industry which has been helped by expansions for both WVU Healthcare and Mon General Hospital. Overall, though, he said nearly all job sectors have added jobs in recent months.
“We’ve had incredible stability, over several years now. We almost completely missed the recession here in Morgantown,” he said.
However, Deskins cautioned uncertainties for the state’s overall economy, the federal fiscal environment and the inevitable rise of interest rates could mean a darker economic forecast for Morgantown in the coming years.