West Virginia's labor force has lost 16,100 workers since July 2008, a decline of nearly two percent.

Ben Parker with Workforce West Virginia says some people may have given up finding employment and are no longer counted as being in the labor force. Others may have left the state.

Parker says the agency doesn't measure such factors, so it's difficult to determine why the labor force is shrinking.

West Virginia's unemployment rate increased from four percent on July 1, 2008, to 8.6 percent on July 1, 2009.

But Parker says he's seeing signs that the employment picture is improving.

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