Beckley, West Virginia Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Beckley fell 0.0 percentage points in August 2019 to 4.9%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.3 percentage points higher than the West Virginia rate. The unemployment rate in Beckley peaked in February 2010 at 8.9% and is now 4.0 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 4.9% in May 2019, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.0 percentage points. You can also compare Beckley unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	August 2019	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	3.7%	0.0	-0.1
West Virginia	4.6%	-0.1	-0.5
Beckley	4.9%	0.0	-0.7

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with August 2019 data as September 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 November 2010 at 4,511. There are now 2,279 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 2,221 in June 2019, the number of unemployed has now grown by 11.

Unemployed Persons	August 2019	Month/Month	Year/Year
Beckley	2,232	+7	-279

Number of Unemployed Persons

Beckley, West Virginia Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	West Virginia Unemployment Rate	Beckley Unemployment Rate	Beckley Unemployed
September 2019	3.5%	4.7%	—	—
August 2019	3.7%	4.6%	4.9%	2,232
July 2019	3.7%	4.7%	4.9%	2,225
June 2019	3.7%	4.7%	4.9%	2,221
May 2019	3.6%	4.8%	4.9%	2,247
April 2019	3.6%	4.9%	5.1%	2,298
March 2019	3.8%	5.1%	5.3%	2,417
February 2019	3.8%	5.2%	5.5%	2,486
January 2019	4.0%	5.2%	5.6%	2,527
December 2018	3.9%	5.1%	5.6%	2,519
November 2018	3.7%	5.1%	5.6%	2,518
October 2018	3.8%	5.1%	5.6%	2,511