West Virginia’s Job Growth from Inbound FDI outpaced the U.S. Average by 5X in 2019
A new report released by the Global Business Alliance details how inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) from global companies has become a significant driver of hiring and economic activity within West Virginia’s economy.
More than 29,000 workers in West Virginia – including 15,000 manufacturing workers – are employed by the more than 335 global companies operating plants, offices, and other facilities in the state.
From 2009 to 2019, the number of West Virginians working for global companies’ U.S. affiliates surged by 30%, even as total private sector employment across the state remained flat. In the most recent year alone, West Virginia’s FDI jobs employment grew by 5.1% – roughly five times faster than the U.S. average.
Nancy McLernon, CEO of the Global Business Alliance, explained the significance of global investment to West Virginia’s local economy:
“While West Virginia wasn’t historically a hotbed for global investment, the data show clearly that this trend is turning. Over the past year, global companies’ hiring grew five times faster in West Virginia compared to the national average.
These investments translate directly into good-paying jobs. Nationally, global companies pay their American workers an average of 18% more than the U.S. average.
“As we talk about what it means to ‘Buy American,’ we need to remember that includes products manufactured right here in West Virginia by the American employees of global companies.”
The report examining the impact of inbound FDI on West Virginia’s economy is available at https://globalbusiness.org/state/west-virginia.
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