Charleston, West Virginia Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Charleston rose 0.1 percentage points in October 2019 to 4.6%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.2 percentage points lower than the West Virginia rate. The unemployment rate in Charleston peaked in November 2010 at 8.0% and is now 3.4 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 4.5% in July 2019, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.1 percentage points. You can also compare Charleston unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	October 2019	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	3.6%	+0.1	-0.2
West Virginia	4.8%	+0.1	-0.3
Charleston	4.6%	+0.1	-0.6

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with October 2019 data as November 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 4,006 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 4,193 in August 2019, the number of unemployed has now grown by 151.

Unemployed Persons	October 2019	Month/Month	Year/Year
Charleston	4,344	+113	-441

Number of Unemployed Persons

Charleston, West Virginia Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	West Virginia Unemployment Rate	Charleston Unemployment Rate	Charleston Unemployed
November 2019	3.5%	—	—	—
October 2019	3.6%	4.8%	4.6%	4,344
September 2019	3.5%	4.7%	4.5%	4,231
August 2019	3.7%	4.6%	4.5%	4,193
July 2019	3.7%	4.7%	4.5%	4,208
June 2019	3.7%	4.7%	4.6%	4,242
May 2019	3.6%	4.8%	4.7%	4,326
April 2019	3.6%	4.9%	4.8%	4,473
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