Beckley, West Virginia Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Beckley rose 0.3 percentage points in October 2018 to 5.8%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.6 percentage points higher than the West Virginia rate. The unemployment rate in Beckley peaked in February 2010 at 9.3% and is now 3.5 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 5.4% in April 2017, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.4 percentage points. You can also compare Beckley unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	October 2018	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	3.7%	0.0	-0.4
West Virginia	5.2%	0.0	-0.2
Beckley	5.8%	+0.3	0.0

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with October 2018 data as November metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Beckley, West Virginia, National

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Beckley, West Virginia Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Beckley peaked in February 2010 at 4,619. There are now 2,020 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 2,421 in May 2017, the number of unemployed has now grown by 178.

Unemployed Persons	October 2018	Month/Month	Year/Year
Beckley	2,599	+138	-55

Number of Unemployed Persons

Beckley, West Virginia Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	West Virginia Unemployment Rate	Beckley Unemployment Rate	Beckley Unemployed
November 2018	3.7%	—	—	—
October 2018	3.7%	5.2%	5.8%	2,599
September 2018	3.7%	5.2%	5.5%	2,461
August 2018	3.9%	5.3%	5.4%	2,422
July 2018	3.9%	5.4%	6.0%	2,713
June 2018	4.0%	5.3%	5.6%	2,546
May 2018	3.8%	5.4%	5.8%	2,647
April 2018	3.9%	5.4%	6.0%	2,739
March 2018	4.1%	5.4%	6.0%	2,726
February 2018	4.1%	5.4%	5.7%	2,584
January 2018	4.1%	5.4%	5.5%	2,513
December 2017	4.1%	5.4%	6.1%	2,766