Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators job market in West Virginia
Industry trends, wages and hiring signals.
The headline
West Virginia industry employment changed 6.3 percentage points above the U.S. benchmark
A data-driven view of the industries that employ Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in West Virginia.
Occupation pay
What Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators earn in West Virginia
BLS OEWS occupation-level pay estimates for this role — separate from the industry wage trends used elsewhere in this report.
Median annual wage
$51,300West Virginia- Middle 50% of published wages
- $42,630 – $61,690
- U.S. median annual wage
- $59,850
- Reference period
- May 2025
The middle 50% is the 25th-to-75th percentile wage range, not an experience-level band. Suppressed or unavailable BLS values remain unpublished rather than being estimated.
Pay around West Virginia
How median pay varies by metro area
Published BLS OEWS metro estimates for Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators, compared with the West Virginia median of $51,300.
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$61,660+20.2% vs. state
Beckley, WV$59,700+16.4% vs. state
Wheeling, WV-OH$58,250+13.5% vs. state
Charleston, WV$57,640+12.4% vs. state
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH$57,320+11.7% vs. state
Morgantown, WV$52,970+3.3% vs. state
View 4 more published metro areas
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH$51,290Same as state at displayed precision
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV$50,800−1.0% vs. state
Winchester, VA-WV$50,790−1.0% vs. state
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV$47,450−7.5% vs. state
Areas are ordered by published median wage for readability, not as an overall job-market ranking. The vertical marker is the West Virginia median. Some BLS metropolitan areas cross state lines, so a metro estimate can cover workers in more than one state.
Verified snapshot
Market at a Glance
Key changes in West Virginia’s weighted industry mix.
Percentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
Published coverage: 21,031 represented establishments, 86.54% of the published industry mix.
Local research
What the data shows for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in West Virginia
Findings describe the published observation periods shown below. Research published Oct 11, 2026.
This occupation is more concentrated in the state
The published location quotient for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in West Virginia is 3.63 in OEWS May 2025: their share of employment is 3.63 times the national share. The state estimate is 7,830 jobs, 1.6% of the national employment estimate for this occupation. It represents 11.16 jobs per thousand jobs in the state's OEWS employment universe. The measure describes the distribution of existing employment, not current hiring or future growth.
OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWSOEWS employment estimates describe covered wage-and-salary jobs and exclude self-employed workers; location quotients do not measure vacancies or worker demand.
Construction has the largest positive weighted contribution
In January to March 2026, Construction's year-over-year employment change of +11.9% accounts for 99.5% of the positive weighted contributions across the leading industry groups examined in West Virginia. This proxy weights each industry group by its share of the occupation's national industry mix; the examined groups cover 97.7% of the mix. The contribution share is not a count of occupation jobs created.
January to March 2026 · BLS QCEWPublished median pay is below the U.S. median
The OEWS May 2025 estimates put median annual pay for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators at $51,300 in West Virginia and $59,850 nationally. The state median is 14.3% lower. Living costs are not included in this comparison, and individual workers' pay varies.
OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWSPay differs widely between metro areas
The median wage at the upper end of West Virginia's metro comparison is 25.8% above the lower end in OEWS May 2025. The 7 published estimates on a shared wage basis extend from Parkersburg-Vienna, WV at $47,450 to Beckley, WV at $59,700. The wage difference alone does not account for living costs or job availability.
OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWSMetro estimates may include areas in neighboring states. The comparison covers published metro estimates, not every part of the state.
Industry measures describe the industries associated with this occupation. They are not direct occupation employment, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. Findings describe published data and do not establish causes. Methodology
Employment trends
West Virginia industry employment over time
Year-over-year change in the weighted industries. The U.S. line is the latest-quarter benchmark because a comparable national quarterly history is not published here.
- West Virginia · 2026 Q1+7.0%
- U.S. · latest-quarter benchmark+0.7%
The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.
View every published value
| Quarter | West Virginia | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q2 | +2.8% | 100% |
| 2024 Q3 | +0.7% | 100% |
| 2024 Q4 | -1.7% | 100% |
| 2025 Q1 | -1.1% | 100% |
| 2025 Q2 | +3.3% | 100% |
| 2025 Q3 | +3.0% | 100% |
| 2025 Q4 | +4.7% | 100% |
| 2026 Q1 | +7.0% | 100% |
How to read this chart
State trend and national reference
The solid line follows West Virginia’s published year-over-year industry employment changes by quarter. The dashed U.S. line is a latest-quarter reference, not a second time series.
- Published quarters
- 8
- Earliest quarter
- 2024 Q2
- Latest quarter
- 2026 Q1
- U.S. benchmark
- +0.7%
Quarters with no published value are omitted rather than interpolated.
Industry context
Where Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators Work
The occupation mix determines which West Virginia industries are weighted into this view.
| Industry group | Occupation mix | Employment change | Establishments | Avg. weekly industry wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 62.5% | +11.9% | 4,723 | $1,394 |
| State and local | 17.1% | +0.2% | 2,866 | $961 |
| Professional and business services | 6.7% | -1.6% | 13,442 | $1,412 |
| Mining and logging | 5.3% | -4.4% | 834 | $2,229 |
| Trade, transportation, and utilities | 4.1% | -1.3% | 11,420 | $1,058 |
| Manufacturing | 2.0% | -2.0% | 1,391 | $1,546 |
Which industries are growing?
2 weighted industries are growing
Only weighted industries with a published positive West Virginia employment change are listed.
- Construction+11.9%
- State and local+0.2%
The remaining weighted industries published a flat or negative change in January to March 2026.
Current West Virginia context
Current West Virginia Market Signals
Statewide indicators for all occupations in West Virginia. They are not Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators demand and are not part of the Job Market Health score.
Statewide job postings
Indeed job postings · West Virginia
Recent hiring-demand context · separate from the health score
Total postings index (seasonally adjusted) by observation date · baseline 100
The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.
View values: Indeed postings index
| Observation date | Index (Feb 2020 = 100) |
|---|---|
| Jul 24, 2026 | 137.83 |
| Jul 31, 2026 | 138.74 |
| Aug 7, 2026 | 138.65 |
| Aug 14, 2026 | 136.07 |
| Aug 21, 2026 | 137.03 |
| Aug 28, 2026 | 135.96 |
| Sep 4, 2026 | 134.99 |
| Sep 11, 2026 | 133.77 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | 133.08 |
| Sep 25, 2026 | 133.97 |
| Oct 2, 2026 | 134.50 |
| Oct 9, 2026 | 134.53 |
| Oct 16, 2026 | 134.48 |
| Oct 23, 2026 | 134.80 |
This is statewide demand across all occupations, not demand for this specific job. Postings are not a count of vacancies or hires, and Indeed does not cover the entire labor market.
Source: Indeed Hiring Lab · CC BY 4.0. Seven-day average, seasonally adjusted; publisher refreshes weekly and may revise history. Retrieved Nov 1, 2026 · saved source copy. JobMarketHealth calculates the displayed changes and samples weekly observations for the chart.
Statewide layoff notices
Listed WARN records in West Virginia
Partial listPartial list. Partial listed-record coverage: WorkForce West Virginia's 2026 listings are read with each letter pinned to the reviewed copy and dated by the letter date (received stamps are kept separately). Approximate, contradictory or multi-state worker counts are withheld, and a supplemental notice for recalled workers is linked to its original rather than treated as new people. No month or statewide total is treated as complete; missing records are unknown, not zero.
| Month of notice date | Listed notices |
|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | 1 |
| May 2026 | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | 2 |
| Oct 2026 | 1 |
| Listed notices counted | 10 |
Statewide, current-month and three-month totals are unavailable. Months not shown are unknown, not zero. Effective layoff dates are not used as notice dates.
Source last checked . This check does not certify a newly published report.
Career context
Related occupations
Related roles from the occupation’s published O*NET profile.
Questions answered by this release
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in West Virginia FAQs
Each answer is limited to what QCEW 2026 Q1 actually publishes for this state.
Is employment growing for Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in West Virginia?
The available QCEW measure is not direct occupation employment. Employment across the West Virginia industries weighted to Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators changed +7.0% year over year in January to March 2026, compared with +0.7% nationwide.
Are wages for Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators rising in West Virginia?
QCEW does not publish pay for Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators in this view. Average weekly wages across the weighted industries changed +7.1% year over year; that must not be read as an occupation salary change.
How complete is this West Virginia industry view?
The three core state trends each meet the site’s coverage floor; the minimum published coverage is 100% of the occupation’s industry mix.
Does this page show current Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators openings?
No. QCEW measures industry employment, establishments and wages. Any postings, news or WARN figures shown here are statewide context and are not occupation-specific openings.
Methodology & sourcesQCEW 2026 Q1 · coverage 100% · full evidence record
Methodology & Sources
Derived by JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix. This is occupation-weighted industry context, not direct occupation employment and not a count of current job openings.
- Occupation
- Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators
- SOC code
- 47-2073
- State
- West Virginia
- QCEW release label
- QCEW 2026 Q1
- Data period
- 2026 Q1
- State industry employment, year over year
- +7.0%State data coverage 100%
- U.S. benchmark, year over year
- +0.7%
- Difference from U.S. benchmark
- +6.3 percentage pointsPercentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
- Establishments, year over year
- +0.1%State data coverage 100%
- Average weekly industry wage, year over year
- +7.1%State data coverage 100%
- Industry mix vintage
- EP-2025-2035
- BLS publication date
- Aug 28, 2026
- Source verification
- Verified against the committed source snapshotVerified Sep 17, 2026
- Canonical record URL
- https://jobmarkethealth.com/occupations/operating-engineers-and-other-construction-equipment-operators/west-virginia#evidence-record
- Derived by
- JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix
MethodologyBLS QCEWHow to citeQCEW state context release, 2026 Q1
Weighted industry conditions are not direct occupation employment, occupation wages, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. No causal explanation is inferred.