By Steven Allen Adams, The Weirton Daily Times
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipped down below 6 percent for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last March.
According to WorkForce West Virginia, the state’s unemployment rate for March was 5.9 percent. West Virginia’s March unemployment rate was just slightly better than the U.S. unemployment rate of 6 percent in March.
That’s two-thirds of a percentage point higher than March 2020 unemployment rate of 5.3 percent, right when the state’s economy was shut down to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, but nearly 10 percent less the April 2020 unemployment rate of 15.6 – the peak unemployment rate during the pandemic.
“The number of unemployed state residents decreased by 2,400 to 47,300,” WorkForce West Virginia stated in a press release Tuesday. “Total employment was up 2,000 over the month … Total nonfarm payroll employment increased 1,700 in March.” …
To read more: https://www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-news/2021/04/state-unemployment-below-6-percent-for-first-time-since-pandemic/