Is West Virginia in a recession? What a new analysis says

(NewsNation) — Twenty-two states are either in a recession or on the verge of a downturn, according to a new analysis from Moody’s Analytics.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said the state’s problems stem from a mix of slowing immigration, increasing tariffs and federal job cuts.

According to Zandi, the following 22 states are in a recession or nearly so:

Wyoming, Montana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Kansas, Massachusetts, Washington, Georgia, New Hampshire, Maryland, Rhode Island, Illinois, Delaware, Virginia, Oregon, Connecticut, South Dakota, New Jersey, Maine, Iowa, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

“States experiencing recessions are spread across the country, but the broader DC area stands out due to government job cuts,” Zandi said.

Last week, U.S. hiring plans fell to their lowest level since 2009.

Employers have announced plans to add about 205,000 jobs through the first nine months of the year — down 58% from the same point in 2024 and the lowest tally since 2009.

The job market has slowed so much that the Federal Reserve cut its main interest rate last month for the first time this year. Fed officials have also penciled in several more cuts to rates through the end of next year to give the economy more breathing room. But Chair Jerome Powell has also said they may have to shift course if inflation stays high. That’s because lower interest rates can push inflation even higher.

Economist Michael Szanto told Nexstar’s NewsNation he believes the downturn can be blamed on President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

“We’re in a challenging situation,” he said. “There’s a little bit of a lag in the pain and problems caused by the tariffs. We have the highest tariff rate regime in over half a century that is going to prove a very tough challenge for the American consumer and for the economy overall.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.