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West Virginia ranks No. 2 in job growth

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia ranks No. 2 in job growth, according to a study released by Arizona State University on Wednesday.
According to the study, non-agricultural jobs in West Virginia increased by 2.6 percent. The study compared figures of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from January 2011 to this January.
The 2.6 percent growth tied West Virginia with Utah, another state where mining is prevalent.
“One common theme among those doing well on the list is the use of natural resources at a time of high energy prices,” Lee McPheters, director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center at Arizona State’s W. P. Carey School of Business, said in a media release.
North Dakota topped the list with job growth of 6.3 percent.
McPheters also explained that many of the states at the top of the list also have a relatively small labor force, so even a modest boost can register as a big jobs percentage gain.
The overall growth rate for the United States, comparing January 2011 to this January, was 1.5 percent. The actual number of jobs went up by 1.98 million nationwide.