W.Va. unemployment rate drops to 5.2%

CHARLESTON -- Job gains in construction and other sectors cut West Virginia's unemployment rate by one-tenth of a percentage point in April to 5.2 percent.

Workforce West Virginia says 42,200 West Virginians were unemployment in April, a decline of 600 from the same period in 2007.

Construction added 2,600 jobs and accounted for most of the gain in the goods-producing sector. Natural resources and mining added 200 jobs, while manufacturing lost 100 jobs.

In the service-providing sector, leisure and hospitality gained 1,700 jobs. Business and professional services added 800 jobs.

Despite the gains, the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose three-tenths of a percentage point to 5 percent.