The national recession continues to take its toll on West Virginia jobs, with U.S. Census Bureau figures showing the Mountain State had the largest jump in unemployment numbers among all states in April.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the month was 7.5 percent, a jump from 6.8 percent in March. The state's total unemployment rate has jumped about 3 percent since the beginning of the year, leaving nearly 60,000 people out of work. (May figures won't be released until later this month.)

West Virginia had seemed to avoid the worst of the economic downturn until recently. Its unemployment rate remained well behind many other states for some time. And in fact most states have higher rates than West Virginia: Ohio's rate is more than 10 percent.

"West Virginia may have fallen into this recession later than the rest of the nation did, so we are catching up in severity," West Virginia University economist George Hammond said.

Hammond and the WVU Bureau of Business and Economic Research prepare a state economic forecast every year. Already this year's recession has resulted in more job losses than the researchers expected.

Some economists predict the economy could begin to turn around as early as this year, although job losses traditionally continue well into the recovery. Whether West Virginia participates in whatever recovery is coming at the same time as the rest of the nation, or whether it lags behind, will likely depend on the state's natural resource sector, Hammond said.

"If we continue to see coal prices fall, if that sector lags behind the national recovery, then that has a substantial influence on how the state recovers as well," he said.

Historically, a high unemployment rate isn't something new to West Virginia. It is only in recent years the annual rate has averaged below 5 percent, with 2007 and 2008 having the lowest average in the last 30 years. The rate hit a high of 17.4 percent in 1983 during the economic recession that marked that period.

Major layoffs in recent times include the idling of the Century Aluminum plant in Ravenswood, which employed more than 660 people, and the exodus of several natural gas companies including Chesapeake Energy, Columbia Natural Gas and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., which resulted in hundreds of job losses.

Workers laid off from their jobs in West Virginia are eligible for state unemployment compensation benefits, but the rising number of unemployed people has taken its toll on the fund.

There was $161 million in the fund at the end of April, according to Unemployment Compensation Director Michael Moore. The state had paid out $136 million as of May 22, a 98 percent increase over last year.

Fearing the fund could go bankrupt in the future, state lawmakers voted earlier this year to raise unemployment compensation taxes and inject $40 million of one-time money into the fund.

That may get it through the rest of the year, but unless the economy turns around, Moore predicts the fund will need more help in the near future.

"I think we'll probably be back at it again next year in the Legislature," he said.