Charleston Gazette (West Virginia)

September 11, 2009, Friday

NEWS; Pg. P1A

416 words

JOBS;
Wal-Mart still largest W.Va. private employer

Eric Eyre, Staff writer

Retail giant Wal-Mart remains West Virginia's largest private employer, according to annual Workforce West Virginia study released Thursday.

Wal-Mart has topped the list of the state's largest companies for 12 consecutive years. The company has 12,429 employees in West Virginia, according to its Web site.

The state's top 10 largest employers remained the same as last year, but several shifted slightly in the rankings.

West Virginia United Health System was the second largest private employer, followed by Charleston Area Medical Center, Kroger and American Electric Power.

"This reflects the strength of service jobs in the state's economy," said Alan Brant, a researcher with Workforce West Virginia.

Rounding out the top 10 were nursing home operator Eldercare Resources Corp., St. Mary's Hospital in Huntington, CSX Corp. (whose total includes railroad workers and The Greenbrier hotel employees), Consolidation Coal Co. and Lowe's Home Centers.

CSX sold The Greenbrier to Jim Justice in May. The state counted private-sector workers in March.

"The top players are all the same," Brant said. "The employment total in the top 10 as a group is down somewhat, but not down nearly as much as the state as a whole."

West Virginia's largest 10 businesses lost 400 employees during the past year, while the state lost 10,000 workers from March 2008 to March 2009.

Total employment for the top 100 companies dropped by only 100 during the same one-year period.

Workforce West Virginia also analyzed private employers by size, finding that all size groups except the largest - more than 1,000 workers - saw employment declines.

Private employers in the health-care and energy industries showed the biggest gains on the list, Brant said.

Among the top 20 private employers, Mylan Pharmaceuticals made the largest leap, moving from No. 15 last year to No. 11.

Mountaineer Racetrack and Gaming Center, a casino and thoroughbred track in Chester, fell from No. 11 to No. 21, the biggest drop among top 20 companies. Between 2007 and 2008, Mountaineer was one of the state's biggest gainers.

Workforce West Virginia doesn't provide employment numbers for each company.

The agency puts together the annual list using data provided by employers under the unemployment compensation insurance system during the first quarter of the year. The state has published the list since 1999.

For the complete list of top 100 private employers, go to www.workforcewv.org/lmi.

Reach Eric Eyre at ericeyre@wvgazette.com

or 304-348-4869.

September 11, 2009