After being buffeted by a decade of economic distress because of plant closures and job losses primarily associated with cutbacks in the timber industry, Lewis County is beginning to show vitality.
Job creation is on the upswing and the labor force is growing.
Unemployment, after ticking up some during the 1990-91 national recession, has fallen into the 8 percent range, lower than the county's historical level. Employment in trade and services is rising rapidly and even manufacturing has been increasing over the last two to three years. In conjunction with this, the population is growing and in-migration has picked up. Further, the trend of the average wage in the county seems to have halted and reversed a 12-year downward spiral. A number of factors, including the general economic health of the nation and the state, have contributed to this improvement.