Known for its rich natural resources and strong industrial presence, the value of West Virginian shipments by manufacturers in 1997 was $19 billion.
Major industrial areas are the Kanawha, Ohio, and Monongahela valleys and the eastern panhandle. The largest industrial corporations with headquarters in West Virginia are Weirton Steel and Wheeling-Pittsburgh. Other major industrial companies with operations in West Virginia include E. I. du Pont de Nemours, Union Carbide, Ravenswood Aluminum, and Rhone Poulenc.
Earnings of persons employed in West Virginia increased from $21.9 billion in 1997 to $22.7 billion in 1998, an increase of 3.5%. The largest industries in 1998 were services, 25.0% of earnings; state and local government, 14.2%; and retail trade, 9.8%. Of the industries that accounted for at least 5% of earnings in 1998, the slowest growing from 1997 to 1998 was mining (7.0% of earnings in 1998), which decreased 2.3%; the fastest was services, which increased 5.5%.