Charleston, West Virginia Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Charleston fell 0.7 percentage points in July 2020 to 11.1%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 1.1 percentage points higher than the West Virginia rate. The unemployment rate in Charleston peaked in April 2020 at 18.2% and is now 7.1 percentage points lower. You can also compare Charleston unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	July 2020	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	10.2%	-0.9	+6.5
West Virginia	10.0%	-0.5	+5.2
Charleston	11.1%	-0.7	+6.4

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with July 2020 data as August 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 April 2020 at 16,785. There are now 6,682 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area.

Unemployed Persons	July 2020	Month/Month	Year/Year
Charleston	10,103	-761	+5,720

Number of Unemployed Persons

Charleston, West Virginia Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	West Virginia Unemployment Rate	Charleston Unemployment Rate	Charleston Unemployed
August 2020	8.4%	8.9%	—	—
July 2020	10.2%	10.0%	11.1%	10,103
June 2020	11.1%	10.5%	11.8%	10,864
May 2020	13.3%	12.9%	14.5%	13,384
April 2020	14.7%	15.9%	18.2%	16,785
March 2020	4.4%	6.0%	5.9%	5,607
February 2020	3.5%	4.9%	4.8%	4,462
January 2020	3.6%	5.0%	4.9%	4,564
December 2019	3.5%	5.1%	5.0%	4,688
November 2019	3.5%	5.1%	5.0%	4,637
October 2019	3.6%	5.1%	4.9%	4,580
September 2019	3.5%	5.0%	4.8%	4,517