Charleston, West Virginia Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Charleston fell 0.3 percentage points in April 2019 to 4.8%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.1 percentage points lower than the West Virginia rate. The unemployment rate in Charleston peaked in November 2010 at 8.0% and is now 3.2 percentage points lower. You can also compare Charleston unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	April 2019	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	3.6%	-0.2	-0.3
West Virginia	4.9%	-0.2	-0.5
Charleston	4.8%	-0.3	-0.8

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with April 2019 data as May metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Charleston, West Virginia, National

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Charleston, West Virginia Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Charleston peaked in November 2010 at 8,350. There are now 3,876 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area.

Unemployed Persons	April 2019	Month/Month	Year/Year
Charleston	4,474	-228	-711

Number of Unemployed Persons

Charleston, West Virginia Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	West Virginia Unemployment Rate	Charleston Unemployment Rate	Charleston Unemployed
May 2019	3.6%	—	—	—
April 2019	3.6%	4.9%	4.8%	4,474
March 2019	3.8%	5.1%	5.1%	4,702
February 2019	3.8%	5.2%	5.2%	4,815
January 2019	4.0%	5.2%	5.2%	4,837
December 2018	3.9%	5.1%	5.2%	4,803
November 2018	3.7%	5.1%	5.2%	4,795
October 2018	3.8%	5.1%	5.2%	4,785
September 2018	3.7%	5.1%	5.2%	4,799
August 2018	3.8%	5.1%	5.2%	4,837
July 2018	3.9%	5.2%	5.3%	4,917
June 2018	4.0%	5.2%	5.4%	5,019