Charleston, WV: Nonfarm employment and labor force data : Mid–Atlantic Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Charleston, WV: Nonfarm employment and labor force data

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Employment data from the Current Employment Statistics program
(not seasonally adjusted data, all employees, in thousands)
Sector	Charleston, W.Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area
Sector	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual Avg
Total Nonfarm
2025	104.5	105.5	106.1	105.7	106.9	106.7	105.3	105.4	104.9	105.8	106.3	106.1	105.8
2026	104.3	104.4	105.2	105.6	107.1	105.9	(p)105.1
Mining, Logging, & Construction
2025	5.7	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.2	6.2	6.0	6.0	6.0	5.9	5.8	5.7	6.0
2026	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.8	5.8	5.9	(p)5.8
Manufacturing
2025	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.7	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6
2026	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	(p)3.5
Trade, Transportation, & Utilities
2025	16.3	16.3	16.3	16.1	16.1	16.1	16.3	16.2	16.0	16.3	16.4	16.5	16.2
2026	16.1	15.9	15.9	16.1	16.1	16.2	(p)16.0
Information
2025	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.0	1.0	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1
2026	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	(p)1.0
Financial Activities
2025	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.1	5.1
2026	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	(p)5.0
Professional & Business Services
2025	12.6	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.9	12.9	12.8	12.6	12.4	12.7	12.7	12.8	12.7
2026	12.7	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.9	12.8	(p)13.1
Educational & Health Services
2025	24.2	24.4	24.7	24.6	24.7	24.5	24.3	24.5	24.5	24.7	24.9	24.9	24.6
2026	24.7	24.8	25.1	25.0	25.0	24.9	(p)24.8
Leisure & Hospitality
2025	8.8	8.9	9.0	9.2	9.5	9.6	9.4	9.4	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.0	9.2
2026	8.7	8.7	8.8	9.1	9.3	9.5	(p)9.5
Other Services
2025	3.8	3.9	3.9	3.8	3.9	3.9	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.9	3.8	3.9	3.9
2026	3.8	3.8	3.9	3.9	3.9	3.8	(p)3.9
Government
2025	23.4	23.6	23.8	23.6	23.9	23.7	22.8	23.1	23.3	23.4	23.7	23.5	23.5
2026	23.1	23.3	23.6	23.3	24.5	23.2	(p)22.5
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

Labor Force data from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program
(not seasonally adjusted data)
	Charleston, W.Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual Avg
Labor Force
2025	87,992	88,017	88,028	88,482	88,256	90,016	89,388	88,825	88,562	(1)-	88,063	87,413	(2)88,458
2026	86,811	87,528	86,368	87,512	87,141	88,558	(p)88,224
Employment
2025	84,098	84,068	84,217	85,134	84,916	86,193	85,595	84,728	84,728	(1)-	83,991	83,410	(2)84,643
2026	82,627	82,904	82,807	83,848	83,944	84,654	(p)84,675
Unemployment
2025	3,894	3,949	3,811	3,348	3,340	3,823	3,793	4,097	3,834	(1)-	4,072	4,003	(2)3,815
2026	4,184	4,624	3,561	3,664	3,197	3,904	(p)3,549
Unemployment Rate
2025	4.4	4.5	4.3	3.8	3.8	4.2	4.2	4.6	4.3	(1)-	4.6	4.6	(2)4.3
2026	4.8	5.3	4.1	4.2	3.7	4.4	(p)4.0
Footnotes (1) Data unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations. (2) Annual estimates for 2025 are 11-month averages that exclude October. Data for October 2025 were not collected due to the federal government shutdown. (p) Preliminary
The Charleston, W.Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Boone, Clay, Kanawha, Lincoln and Putnam Counties in West Virginia.