BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

10/30/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/30/2026 13:12

Business Employment Dynamics in West Virginia — First Quarter 2026

News Release Information

26-1642-PHI
Friday, October 30, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Business Employment Dynamics in West Virginia - First Quarter 2026

From December 2025 to March 2026, gross job gains from opening and expanding private-sector establishments in West Virginia were 36,187, while gross job losses from closing and contracting private-sector establishments were 30,435, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Lori Keller noted that the difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 5,752 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2026. (See table 1.) During the previous quarter, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 1,064. (See chart 1.)

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all private businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private-sector establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.)

Chart 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses in West Virginia, March 2021-March 2026, seasonally adjusted
Period Gross job gains Gross job losses

Mar 2021

37,866 30,934

Jun 2021

34,809 33,906

Sep 2021

37,096 33,972

Dec 2021

41,541 31,517

Mar 2022

39,069 32,732

Jun 2022

35,873 42,796

Sep 2022

43,490 37,170

Dec 2022

35,663 34,223

Mar 2023

39,732 29,973

Jun 2023

34,150 35,477

Sep 2023

35,650 36,379

Dec 2023

35,481 31,926

Mar 2024

39,024 34,262

Jun 2024

39,348 37,552

Sep 2024

32,817 36,444

Dec 2024

36,295 33,908

Mar 2025

37,511 33,009

Jun 2025

31,909 35,851

Sep 2025

33,668 34,413

Dec 2025

33,793 34,857

Mar 2026

36,187 30,435
View Chart Data

Gross job gains

In the first quarter of 2026, gross job gains represented 6.4 percent of private-sector employment in West Virginia; nationally, gross job gains accounted for 5.5 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 2.) Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment due to expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. In West Virginia, gross job gains at expanding establishments totaled 28,766 in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 1,525 jobs compared to the previous quarter. Opening establishments accounted for 7,421 jobs gained in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 869 jobs from the previous quarter.

Chart 2. Private-sector gross job gains as a percent of employment, United States and West Virginia, March 2021-March 2026, seasonally adjusted
Period West Virginia United States

Mar 2021

7.3 7.0

Jun 2021

6.7 6.8

Sep 2021

7.1 7.3

Dec 2021

7.8 7.7

Mar 2022

7.3 6.7

Jun 2022

6.7 6.6

Sep 2022

8.1 6.9

Dec 2022

6.6 6.3

Mar 2023

7.3 6.3

Jun 2023

6.2 6.2

Sep 2023

6.5 5.9

Dec 2023

6.5 5.9

Mar 2024

7.0 5.9

Jun 2024

7.0 5.8

Sep 2024

5.9 5.8

Dec 2024

6.5 5.9

Mar 2025

6.7 5.7

Jun 2025

5.6 5.7

Sep 2025

6.1 5.7

Dec 2025

6.1 6.0

Mar 2026

6.4 5.5
View Chart Data

Gross job losses

In the first quarter of 2026, gross job losses represented 5.4 percent of private-sector employment in West Virginia; nationally, gross job losses accounted for 5.5 percent of private-sector employment. (See chart 3.) Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. In West Virginia, contracting establishments lost 24,572 jobs in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of 1,365 jobs from the prior quarter. Closing establishments lost 5,863 jobs, a decrease of 3,057 jobs from the previous quarter.

Chart 3. Private-sector gross job losses as a percent of employment, United States and West Virginia, March 2021-March 2026, seasonally adjusted
Period United States West Virginia

Mar 2021

5.5 5.9

Jun 2021

5.9 6.5

Sep 2021

6.0 6.5

Dec 2021

5.4 6.0

Mar 2022

5.5 6.1

Jun 2022

6.2 8.0

Sep 2022

5.9 6.9

Dec 2022

5.9 6.4

Mar 2023

5.5 5.5

Jun 2023

5.9 6.4

Sep 2023

5.9 6.6

Dec 2023

5.7 5.7

Mar 2024

5.5 6.2

Jun 2024

5.9 6.7

Sep 2024

5.8 6.5

Dec 2024

5.7 6.1

Mar 2025

5.5 5.9

Jun 2025

6.0 6.4

Sep 2025

5.7 6.2

Dec 2025

5.5 6.2

Mar 2026

5.5 5.4
View Chart Data

Industries

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in 7 of the 9 published industry sectors in West Virginia in the first quarter of 2026. Construction had the largest over-the-quarter net job increase, with a gain of 2,261 jobs. This was the result of 4,878 gross job gains and 2,617 gross job losses. Financial activities showed a net loss of 75 jobs, the largest loss of any sector in the state. This was the result of 1,454 gross job gains and 1,529 gross job losses.

For more information

The BED data series include gross job gains and gross job losses by industry subsector, for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, as well as gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level by employer size class. BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. Additional information is available online at the Business Employment Dynamics homepage and the Business Employment Dynamics Summary.

The Business Employment Dynamics for Second Quarter 2026 are scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 27, 2027, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Revisions to Business Employment Dynamics (BED) Data

Data in this release contain annual revisions in accordance with standard procedures. These revisions include the previous four quarters of not seasonally adjusted data and five years of seasonally adjusted data.


Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BED data are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from existing QCEW records.

More information on formal definitions of the data used in this release, along with coverage, concepts, and methodology, can be found in the Business Employment Dynamics Technical Note.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Private-sector gross job gains and losses by industry, West Virginia, seasonally adjusted
Category Gross job gains and losses
(3 months ended)
Gross job gains and losses
as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Mar.
2025
June
2025
Sept.
2025
Dec.
2025
Mar.
2026
Mar.
2025
June
2025
Sept.
2025
Dec.
2025
Mar.
2026

Total private (1)

Gross job gains

37,511 31,909 33,668 33,793 36,187 6.7 5.6 6.1 6.1 6.4

At expanding establishments

31,351 26,066 27,158 27,241 28,766 5.6 4.6 4.9 4.9 5.1

At opening establishments

6,160 5,843 6,510 6,552 7,421 1.1 1.0 1.2 1.2 1.3

Gross job losses

33,009 35,851 34,413 34,857 30,435 5.9 6.4 6.2 6.2 5.4

At contracting establishments

26,758 28,201 27,818 25,937 24,572 4.8 5.0 5.0 4.6 4.4

At closing establishments

6,251 7,650 6,595 8,920 5,863 1.1 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.0

Net employment change (2)

4,502 -3,942 -745 -1,064 5,752 0.8 -0.8 -0.1 -0.1 1.0

Construction

Gross job gains

4,882 3,790 3,889 3,777 4,878 14.0 10.6 11.2 10.7 12.9

At expanding establishments

4,163 3,286 3,236 3,037 3,926 11.9 9.2 9.3 8.6 10.4

At opening establishments

719 504 653 740 952 2.1 1.4 1.9 2.1 2.5

Gross job losses

2,491 4,141 3,667 3,607 2,617 7.1 11.5 10.5 10.2 6.9

At contracting establishments

2,049 3,098 2,969 2,855 2,099 5.8 8.6 8.5 8.1 5.5

At closing establishments

442 1,043 698 752 518 1.3 2.9 2.0 2.1 1.4

Net employment change (2)

2,391 -351 222 170 2,261 6.9 -0.9 0.7 0.5 6.0

Wholesale trade

Gross job gains

1,116 855 869 1,037 948 5.7 4.3 4.5 5.4 4.9

At expanding establishments

851 630 603 826 674 4.3 3.2 3.1 4.3 3.5

At opening establishments

265 225 266 211 274 1.4 1.1 1.4 1.1 1.4

Gross job losses

858 958 980 1,110 876 4.3 4.9 5.0 5.8 4.6

At contracting establishments

596 699 702 747 610 3.0 3.6 3.6 3.9 3.2

At closing establishments

262 259 278 363 266 1.3 1.3 1.4 1.9 1.4

Net employment change (2)

258 -103 -111 -73 72 1.4 -0.6 -0.5 -0.4 0.3

Retail trade

Gross job gains

4,843 3,926 4,360 3,405 4,304 6.3 5.0 5.7 4.5 5.7

At expanding establishments

4,321 3,526 3,840 3,034 3,792 5.6 4.5 5.0 4.0 5.0

At opening establishments

522 400 520 371 512 0.7 0.5 0.7 0.5 0.7

Gross job losses

3,429 4,989 4,676 4,542 3,519 4.4 6.4 6.0 5.9 4.6

At contracting establishments

3,058 4,393 3,876 3,786 2,970 3.9 5.6 5.0 4.9 3.9

At closing establishments

371 596 800 756 549 0.5 0.8 1.0 1.0 0.7

Net employment change (2)

1,414 -1,063 -316 -1,137 785 1.9 -1.4 -0.3 -1.4 1.1

Transportation and warehousing

Gross job gains

1,165 790 889 1,654 1,543 6.4 4.5 5.1 9.4 8.6

At expanding establishments

984 656 781 1,361 1,295 5.4 3.7 4.5 7.7 7.2

At opening establishments

181 134 108 293 248 1.0 0.8 0.6 1.7 1.4

Gross job losses

1,466 1,307 1,102 1,066 1,523 8.1 7.3 6.3 6.0 8.5

At contracting establishments

1,320 1,144 982 797 1,290 7.3 6.4 5.6 4.5 7.2

At closing establishments

146 163 120 269 233 0.8 0.9 0.7 1.5 1.3

Net employment change (2)

-301 -517 -213 588 20 -1.7 -2.8 -1.2 3.4 0.1

Financial activities

Gross job gains

1,626 1,227 1,557 1,254 1,454 6.3 4.8 6.1 4.8 5.7

At expanding establishments

1,229 981 1,204 913 1,090 4.8 3.8 4.7 3.5 4.3

At opening establishments

397 246 353 341 364 1.5 1.0 1.4 1.3 1.4

Gross job losses

1,395 1,389 1,244 1,691 1,529 5.4 5.4 4.8 6.5 5.9

At contracting establishments

1,070 1,001 922 1,170 1,160 4.1 3.9 3.6 4.5 4.5

At closing establishments

325 388 322 521 369 1.3 1.5 1.2 2.0 1.4

Net employment change (2)

231 -162 313 -437 -75 0.9 -0.6 1.3 -1.7 -0.2

Professional and business services

Gross job gains

6,032 5,750 5,674 5,248 5,450 8.4 8.0 7.9 7.3 7.7

At expanding establishments

4,757 4,363 4,192 3,735 4,038 6.6 6.1 5.8 5.2 5.7

At opening establishments

1,275 1,387 1,482 1,513 1,412 1.8 1.9 2.1 2.1 2.0

Gross job losses

5,429 5,471 6,044 6,990 5,128 7.5 7.6 8.4 9.8 7.3

At contracting establishments

4,052 3,921 4,476 4,590 3,794 5.6 5.4 6.2 6.4 5.4

At closing establishments

1,377 1,550 1,568 2,400 1,334 1.9 2.2 2.2 3.4 1.9

Net employment change (2)

603 279 -370 -1,742 322 0.9 0.4 -0.5 -2.5 0.4

Education and health services

Gross job gains

6,607 5,583 6,192 6,781 6,206 4.6 3.9 4.3 4.7 4.3

At expanding establishments

5,456 4,573 5,170 5,498 5,170 3.8 3.2 3.6 3.8 3.6

At opening establishments

1,151 1,010 1,022 1,283 1,036 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.7

Gross job losses

6,803 6,172 4,889 5,347 4,541 4.7 4.3 3.4 3.7 3.2

At contracting establishments

5,034 4,586 4,056 3,749 3,595 3.5 3.2 2.8 2.6 2.5

At closing establishments

1,769 1,586 833 1,598 946 1.2 1.1 0.6 1.1 0.7

Net employment change (2)

-196 -589 1,303 1,434 1,665 -0.1 -0.4 0.9 1.0 1.1

Leisure and hospitality

Gross job gains

6,969 5,586 6,225 6,356 6,598 9.5 7.7 8.6 8.8 9.0

At expanding establishments

5,942 4,511 4,831 5,403 4,885 8.1 6.2 6.7 7.5 6.7

At opening establishments

1,027 1,075 1,394 953 1,713 1.4 1.5 1.9 1.3 2.3

Gross job losses

6,670 6,751 6,530 5,595 6,624 9.1 9.3 9.1 7.8 9.0

At contracting establishments

5,798 5,578 5,395 4,311 5,499 7.9 7.7 7.5 6.0 7.5

At closing establishments

872 1,173 1,135 1,284 1,125 1.2 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.5

Net employment change (2)

299 -1,165 -305 761 -26 0.4 -1.6 -0.5 1.0 0.0

Other services (3)

Gross job gains

1,565 1,505 1,396 1,518 1,618 8.9 8.5 8.0 8.7 9.2

At expanding establishments

1,300 1,227 1,048 1,215 1,334 7.4 6.9 6.0 7.0 7.6

At opening establishments

265 278 348 303 284 1.5 1.6 2.0 1.7 1.6

Gross job losses

1,291 1,576 1,569 1,607 1,368 7.3 8.9 8.9 9.2 7.8

At contracting establishments

1,001 1,163 1,319 1,220 1,135 5.7 6.6 7.5 7.0 6.5

At closing establishments

290 413 250 387 233 1.6 2.3 1.4 2.2 1.3

Net employment change (2)

274 -71 -173 -89 250 1.6 -0.4 -0.9 -0.5 1.4

Footnotes:
(1) Includes unclassified sector not shown separately.
(2) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses.
(3) Except public administration.

Table 2. Private-sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted
Category Gross job gains as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Gross job losses as a percent of employment
(3 months ended)
Mar.
2025
June
2025
Sept.
2025
Dec.
2025
Mar.
2026
Mar.
2025
June
2025
Sept.
2025
Dec.
2025
Mar.
2026

United States(1)

5.7 5.7 5.7 6.0 5.5 5.5 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.5

Alabama

5.5 5.5 5.5 5.9 5.5 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.2

Alaska

10.4 10.0 7.4 11.9 9.6 8.3 9.9 10.0 9.4 9.4

Arizona

5.8 5.2 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.3 6.2 5.3 5.4 5.6

Arkansas

5.1 5.1 5.4 6.0 5.3 5.1 5.6 5.4 5.3 5.4

California

6.1 6.4 6.3 6.9 6.3 6.4 6.7 6.1 6.1 6.0

Colorado

6.4 6.5 6.5 6.3 6.0 6.6 6.7 6.4 6.2 6.5

Connecticut

5.7 5.8 5.4 5.5 5.3 5.2 5.7 5.7 5.5 5.4

Delaware

6.0 6.0 5.3 5.5 5.5 5.4 6.1 6.0 5.6 5.4

District of Columbia

4.9 5.7 4.6 5.5 5.0 5.8 6.1 6.0 5.1 4.9

Florida

5.8 5.7 6.0 5.9 5.3 5.5 5.8 5.9 5.6 5.5

Georgia

5.6 5.5 5.7 5.9 5.3 5.7 5.6 5.7 5.4 5.5

Hawaii

5.2 4.9 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.2 5.2 4.8 4.7 5.1

Idaho

7.5 7.6 6.7 8.0 7.7 7.3 7.1 7.6 6.3 7.0

Illinois

5.0 5.2 4.7 5.3 5.1 5.0 5.1 5.0 5.3 5.0

Indiana

5.4 5.1 5.1 5.5 4.9 5.1 5.4 5.1 5.1 5.1

Iowa

6.0 5.5 4.8 6.2 6.0 5.6 5.8 5.9 5.4 5.4

Kansas

5.5 5.4 5.8 5.8 5.4 5.4 6.3 5.8 5.4 5.3

Kentucky

5.3 5.0 5.3 5.3 5.2 4.9 5.3 5.6 5.1 5.3

Louisiana

5.8 5.6 6.0 6.0 5.7 5.7 6.2 5.9 5.9 5.4

Maine

7.3 7.1 6.4 6.8 6.4 6.4 7.3 7.0 7.0 6.3

Maryland

5.9 5.7 5.8 6.1 5.6 5.8 6.6 6.3 5.5 6.0

Massachusetts

5.0 5.5 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.1 5.7 5.9 5.5 5.3

Michigan

5.3 5.8 4.9 5.6 5.4 5.3 5.4 5.9 5.3 4.9

Minnesota

5.1 5.8 5.3 5.5 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.6

Mississippi

6.0 6.2 6.4 6.4 5.7 6.1 6.2 6.0 5.9 6.3

Missouri

5.4 5.6 5.7 6.2 5.6 5.2 6.1 5.9 5.4 5.3

Montana

8.0 7.7 7.1 8.4 7.8 7.6 8.3 7.9 7.4 7.0

Nebraska

5.3 5.4 5.6 5.7 5.4 5.3 5.5 6.0 5.3 5.4

Nevada

5.4 6.1 6.9 6.4 5.7 5.9 6.3 5.3 5.4 5.7

New Hampshire

6.6 6.3 5.6 6.3 6.1 6.1 6.7 6.8 5.7 6.3

New Jersey

5.4 5.7 5.3 5.8 5.3 5.5 5.6 5.8 5.4 5.5

New Mexico

6.1 6.0 6.1 6.3 6.0 5.8 6.0 6.4 6.0 5.9

New York

7.0 6.1 5.9 5.6 5.4 5.2 7.0 5.7 5.5 5.2

North Carolina

5.6 5.7 5.4 6.0 5.8 5.5 5.4 5.7 5.0 5.3

North Dakota

6.7 6.4 6.2 6.9 6.8 6.5 6.8 6.6 6.4 6.7

Ohio

5.2 5.3 5.2 5.3 5.2 4.9 5.4 5.3 5.0 5.1

Oklahoma

5.5 5.6 6.0 6.2 5.3 5.3 6.2 6.3 5.3 5.3

Oregon

6.1 6.1 5.7 5.9 5.7 6.1 6.4 6.6 6.0 5.9

Pennsylvania

5.0 4.9 5.0 5.1 4.7 4.7 5.1 5.1 4.7 4.8

Rhode Island

6.6 6.3 6.0 6.6 5.8 5.9 6.7 6.6 6.2 6.0

South Carolina

6.1 5.9 6.3 6.6 6.0 5.6 6.1 6.1 5.5 5.7

South Dakota

6.3 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.9 6.4 6.0 5.9 6.1

Tennessee

5.5 5.3 5.8 6.0 5.4 5.3 6.5 5.5 5.3 4.9

Texas

5.1 5.2 5.3 5.8 5.4 5.1 5.3 5.2 4.9 5.4

Utah

6.8 6.9 6.9 6.6 6.4 6.2 6.8 6.5 6.2 6.1

Vermont

7.0 6.9 6.7 7.0 6.6 6.8 7.4 7.7 7.0 6.5

Virginia

5.6 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.5 5.2 5.8 6.1 5.2 5.4

Washington

5.7 6.0 5.2 5.6 5.7 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.7 5.5

West Virginia

6.7 5.6 6.1 6.1 6.4 5.9 6.4 6.2 6.2 5.4

Wisconsin

5.1 5.3 4.9 5.5 5.4 5.0 5.4 5.6 5.1 4.9

Wyoming

8.1 8.3 7.7 9.0 8.8 8.8 8.9 8.4 8.0 8.2

Puerto Rico

6.5 7.0 5.2 4.6 4.6 5.2 6.0 5.4 5.3 4.6

Virgin Islands

6.1 11.9 6.9 8.4 7.3 8.8 9.2 7.5 5.7 7.1

Footnotes
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on October 30, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 30, 2026 at 19:12 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]