ARC report: Parts of Appalachia improving economically, but coal country still struggling - Entrepreneur Generations

ARC map augmented by The Rural Blog with plus and minus
signs to highlight counties whose status changed since last year.

"An annual report from the Appalachian Regional Commission hows that while Appalachia is seeing some economic improvement, the heart of the region and its coal-producing communities are still struggling. Several counties in the Ohio Valley are moving in a negative direction in this year’s report," Becca Schmidt reports for Ohio Valley ReSource.

The report assesses county-level data in Appalachia on unemployment, per capita market income, and poverty, and divides the results into five tiers. The ones on the lowest end are "economically distressed", and rank among the lowest 10 percent of county economies in the nation. Top-performing counties are labled "attainment" counties, and in between counties are scored "at risk", "transitional", or "competitive", Schmidt reports.

Most of the counties that declined from last year's report were in Ohio and West Virginia, which is likely a function of coal's decline, according to the report, Schmidt reports. Kentucky continued to have the lion's share of economically distressed counties. There were lots of gains, mainly in the southern half of Appalachia, but there were no gainers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, or New York.

"Ten counties in Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia are moving in a negative direction. Those are: Rowan Co., Kentucky; Ashtabula, Athens, Coshocton, and Guernsey Counties, Ohio: and Nicholas, Pleasants, and Wirt Counties in West Virginia," Schmidt reports. "Just four counties in the Ohio Valley are moving in a positive direction: Cumberland and Garrard Counties, Kentucky; and Hardy and Summers Counties in West Virginia."

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2X19rkg ARC report: Parts of Appalachia improving economically, but coal country still struggling - Entrepreneur Generations

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