CHARLESTON â Employment numbers continued to improve in April, as 3,200 West Virginians went back to work, according to unemployment data released by WorkForce West Virginia. In April, the stateâs unemployment rate dropped to 5.8%, as total nonfarm employment increased 3,200. Of those new jobs, 1,700 were in the service-providing sector and 1,500 were in the goods-producing sector, according to WorkForce West Virginia and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. More than 750,000 West Virginians were employed in April. April marked the fourth consecutive month of jobs growth, as the state unemployment rate has dropped each month since December, when it was 8.3%. During the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment peaked in April 2020, when 119,500 West Virginians were unemployed. Since then, more than 101,000 West Virginians have found work, as total unemployment has dropped to 45,800, according to the data.