Workforce Data

Isle of Wight County has a highly qualified, skilled labor force. It is also part of a regional workforce, rich in supply of technically trained personnel and has a breadth of occupational skills within the manufacturing, warehousing and distribution and office sectors. This combination provides a complete workforce package for businesses.

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Civilian Labor Force Statistics

Isle of Wight County MSA
Civilian Labor Force 19,418 843,193
Employed 18,949 820,248
Unemployed 469 22,945
Unemployment Rate 2.4% 2.7%
Source: Virginia Employment Commission, September 2019

Educational Attainment (Isle of Wight)

On-Time Graduation Rate (Class of 2018) 95.5%
Percentage of Isle of Wight County population age 25+ who are high school graduates or higher (2013-2017) 87.6%
Source: Virginia Department of Education; U.S. Census Bureau,  American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2013-2017)

Additional Workforce

Exiting Active-Duty Military 8,200+ annually
Military Spouses 30,000
College Graduates 25,000 annually
Source: Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance

Employment By Industry Sector

Manufacturing 30.7%
Government (Federal, State and Local) 13.1%
Accommodation and Food Services 8.0%
Retail Trade 8.0%
Health Care and Social Assistance 6.2%
Transportation and Warehousing 4.8%
Construction 4.4%
Administrative Support and Waste Management 4.2%
Other Services (except Public Administration) 3.9%
Wholesale Trade 3.8%
Professional Scientific and Technical Services 3.5%
Management of Companies and Enterprises 2.3%
Finance and Insurance 1.9%
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 1.9%
Source: Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI), Q1 2019 dataset, industries with employment >200, percentage of
county employees across all industries

Sample of Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

 Occupation Mean Hourly Wage Mean Annual Salary
Industrial Machinery Mechanics $25.20 $52,420
Maintenance Workers, Machinery  $24.80 $51,570
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers  $33.20 $69,060
Assemblers and Fabricators  $15.68 $32,620
Machinists  $24.94 $51,880
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators and Tenders  $19.69 $40,950
Helpers-Production Workers $13.65 $28,390
Food Processing Workers  $12.40 $25,800
Source: Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metro Area, Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2018