| COVID-19 dealt a huge blow to the West Virginia economy with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in April soaring to 15.2%, state figures show.
US unemployment is reaching levels higher than the Great Depression. 37 million Americans have applied for unemployment.
The rate is up nine percentage points from March 2020, according to information from Workforce WV. The number of unemployed state residents increased 67,400 to 117,100. Total unemployment was up 79,600 over the year.
In April 2019, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.7%.
West Virginiaâs unemployment spike was expected as thousands of businesses shut down while state officials tried to slow down the spread of the virus. The national unemployment rate increased to 14.7 percent in April.
The county-by-county unemployment data is expected to be available May 27. | 
