CHARLESTON, WV (WOAY)- West Virginia’s unemployment rate fell to 8.6% last month.
The state’s jobless rate dipped 0.3 percentage points in September. Nonfarm employment fell by 3,000, but the number of unemployed residents also decreased by 2,700, WorkForce West Virginia said Wednesday.
West Virginia added 1,700 jobs last month in the leisure and hospitality industry. Other gains included 400 in education and health services, 300 in construction and 100 in information.
But those were offset by declines of 3,200 in government, 1,000 in professional and business services, 700 in mining and logging, 500 in trade, transportation and utilities, 300 in financial activities and 100 in manufacturing.
Since September 2019, total nonfarm employment has dropped 45,600 in West Virginia.
Hundreds of thousands of unemployment claims have been processed in West Virginia since the coronavirus pandemic forced widespread shutdowns in March.
The national unemployment rate fell to 7.9% in September.
