Economic Opportunity
Building Opportunity: A Toolkit for Virginia’s Future
We all want to believe that if we meet our obligations and if we work hard at the things we choose to do that we’ll be rewarded with opportunities to get ahead.
Immigrants & Economy: Profiles of Virginia Business Owners
Local shops and services that provide for everyday needs are cornerstones of thriving communities, and foreign-born Virginians play an important...
Virginia Immigrants in the Economy
Pillars of Our Prosperity Virginia’s immigrants are diverse, growing in number, and are major contributors to our state’s economy. Immigrants...
Session 2017: Key Budget Policy Choices
Key proposed changes to the enacted budget, Ch. 780 click image for pdf...
Economic Progress; Opportunities to Do Even Better
Most Virginians are doing better than they were a few years ago, according to data released today by the Census Bureau. The median household income rose 2 percent in 2015 to $66,262, after adjusting for inflation. And 44,000 fewer Virginians have incomes that are below the poverty line, which is less than $24,257 for a family of four. The improvement in incomes was slightly slower than those of the United States as a whole, which saw a 4 percent increase in median household incomes and, like Virginia, a 5 percent decline in the poverty rate. Virginia remains the 9th highest income state in the country.
Unemployment Ticks Down, But Labor Force Shrinks
Within the good news that Virginia’s unemployment rate is the lowest in eight years is the not-so-great news that one reason for the drop is that Virginia’s labor force has shrunk a bit.
Out of Touch: Incomes Rise for Virginia’s Top 0.1 Percent, Fall for Other 99.9 Percent
Virginia’s lawmakers can and should make policy choices that increase the bargaining power of workers and build an economy that works for all. To pretend that it is impossible to do so is to ignore history.
The Cornerstones of Communities
In Virginia, “Main Street” businesses – the local shops and services that provide for a variety of everyday needs and that generally have a physical storefront – are cornerstones of thriving communities and immigrants play an important role in starting and maintaining these businesses.
Vital for Prosperity — Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia’s 671,000 immigrants are a critical component of the region’s economic strength and an integral part of family life and communities. Foreign-born Virginians make up 26 percent of the region’s residents, twice the rate as in Virginia or the United States as a whole.