The local economy of West Virginia and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
4.0%
August 2026, 4.3% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,188
Q1 2026, 693,317 jobs
New homes permitted
3,981
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
+3,106
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for West Virginia, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for West Virginia is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in West Virginia was 4.0% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.3% a year earlier. 740,961 people were employed out of a labor force of 772,230. Among its counties, Pendleton County had the lowest rate (2.8%) and McDowell County the highest (10.6%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in West Virginia was $1,188 in Q1 2026, up 3.4% from a year earlier, across 693,317 jobs at 62,989 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 274 new homes in West Virginia in August 2026 (267 single-family and 0 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 2,719, down 0.5% from the same months last year, and 3,981 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Berkeley County (1,248), Jefferson County (1,153), Putnam County (260) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 36,748 people moved to West Virginia and 33,642 moved away, a net gain of 3,106 (+2.3 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, and most people who left went to Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for West Virginia. In its region, Lower Atlantic, regular gasoline averaged $4.20 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.