Beckley, West Virginia Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Beckley fell 4.6 percentage points in May 2020 to 13.8%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.9 percentage points higher than the West Virginia rate. The unemployment rate in Beckley peaked in April 2020 at 18.4% and is now 4.6 percentage points lower. You can also compare Beckley unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	May 2020	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	13.3%	-1.4	+9.7
West Virginia	12.9%	-3.0	+8.2
Beckley	13.8%	-4.6	+9.0

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with May 2020 data as June 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 April 2020 at 8,751. There are now 2,250 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area.

Unemployed Persons	May 2020	Month/Month	Year/Year
Beckley	6,501	-2,250	+4,275

Number of Unemployed Persons

Beckley, West Virginia Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	West Virginia Unemployment Rate	Beckley Unemployment Rate	Beckley Unemployed
July 2020	10.2%	—	—	—
June 2020	11.1%	10.4%	—	—
May 2020	13.3%	12.9%	13.8%	6,501
April 2020	14.7%	15.9%	18.4%	8,751
March 2020	4.4%	6.0%	6.4%	3,073
February 2020	3.5%	4.9%	5.1%	2,438
January 2020	3.6%	5.0%	5.2%	2,476
December 2019	3.5%	5.1%	5.4%	2,554
November 2019	3.5%	5.1%	5.3%	2,519
October 2019	3.6%	5.1%	5.3%	2,480
September 2019	3.5%	5.0%	5.2%	2,435
August 2019	3.7%	4.9%	5.1%	2,385