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.

Civilian Labor Force Statistics

Isle of Wight County MSA
Civilian Labor Force 19,918 845,860
Employed 19,354 819,172
Unemployed 564 26,688
Unemployment Rate 2.8% 3.2%
Source: Virginia Employment Commission, February 2023

Educational Attainment (Isle of Wight)

On-Time Graduation Rate (Class of 2018) 93%
Percentage of Isle of Wight County population age 25+ who are high school graduates or higher (2013-2017) 91.1%
Source: Isle of Wight County Schools; U.S. Census Bureau,  American Community Survey 2021 5-Year Estimates

Additional Workforce

Exiting Active-Duty Military 14,000+ annually
Military Spouses 30,000
College Graduates 13,000+ annually
Source: Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance

Employment By Industry Sector

Manufacturing 25.6%
Government (Federal, State and Local) 13.5%
Accommodation and Food Services 8.9%
Retail Trade 8.9%
Health Care and Social Assistance 5.8%
Other Services (except Public Administration) 5.1%
Construction 4.9%
Administrative Support and Waste Management 4.4%
Transportation and Warehousing 4.1%
Management of Companies and Enterprises 3.9%
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 3.4%
Professional Scientific and Technical Services 2.7%
Wholesale Trade 1.9%
Educational Services 1.9%
Finance and Insurance 1.8%
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 1.5%
Real Estate, Rental and Leasing 0.6%
Unclassified Industry 0.4%
Utilities 0.4%
Information 0.2%
Source: Lightcast, Dataset 2022.4; Hampton Roads Alliance

Sample of Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

 Occupation Mean Hourly Wage Mean Annual Salary
Industrial Machinery Mechanics $28.26 $58,780
Maintenance Workers, Machinery  $25.75 $53,570
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers  $32.37 $67,330
Assemblers and Fabricators  $18.17 $37,780
Machinists  $23.57 $49,020
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators and Tenders  $19.23 $40,010
Helpers-Production Workers $15.82 $32,910
Food Processing Workers  $16.16 $33,600
Source: Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metro Area, Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2021