PA Unemployment Rate Declines in May to Five-Year Low of 5.6%; Private Jobs at Record High
HARRISBURG, Pa., June 20, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its employment situation report for May 2014.
Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined by one-tenth of a percentage point in May to 5.6 percent, the lowest rate since September 2008. The commonwealth's rate was seven-tenths of a percentage point below the U.S. rate of 6.3 percent, which was unchanged from April. The state rate was down 1.9 percentage points from its May 2013 rate of 7.5 percent.
Pennsylvania's civilian labor force – the number of people working or looking for work – was down 12,000 in May to 6,431,000. Resident employment, down 6,000, declined for the first time after eight consecutive gains while unemployment (-5,000) declined for the 10th straight month.
Total nonfarm jobs increased by 24,700 in May to reach 5,794,900, the highest level since September 2008. The majority of the gain was within the private sector, which added 21,700 jobs to reach a record high of 5,078,000 while public sector jobs were up by 3,000. The largest gain was in leisure & hospitality, which reached a record high of 550,000 jobs. Education & health services and professional & business services also both reached record high levels in May.
Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 62,400 (+1.1%). The growth was primarily within private industries, with the largest gains in leisure & hospitality and professional & business services.
Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.
Media Contact: Sara Goulet, 717-787-7530
Editor's Note: A breakdown of Pennsylvania's employment statistics follows.
| Current Labor Force Statistics |
|||||||
| Seasonally Adjusted |
|||||||
| (in thousands) |
|||||||
| Change from |
Change from |
||||||
| May |
April |
May |
April 2014 |
May 2013 |
|||
| 2014 |
2014 |
2013 |
volume |
percent |
volume |
percent |
|
| PA |
|||||||
| Civilian Labor Force |
6,431 |
6,443 |
6,474 |
-12 |
-0.2% |
-43 |
-0.7% |
| Employment |
6,069 |
6,075 |
5,986 |
-6 |
-0.1% |
83 |
1.4% |
| Unemployment |
363 |
368 |
488 |
-5 |
-1.4% |
-125 |
-25.6% |
| Rate |
5.6 |
5.7 |
7.5 |
-0.1 |
---- |
-1.9 |
---- |
| U.S. |
|||||||
| Civilian Labor Force |
155,613 |
155,421 |
155,609 |
192 |
0.1% |
4 |
0.0% |
| Employment |
145,814 |
145,669 |
143,919 |
145 |
0.1% |
1,895 |
1.3% |
| Unemployment |
9,799 |
9,753 |
11,690 |
46 |
0.5% |
-1,891 |
-16.2% |
| Rate |
6.3 |
6.3 |
7.5 |
0.0 |
---- |
-1.2 |
---- |
| Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment |
|||||||
| Seasonally Adjusted |
|||||||
| (in thousands) |
|||||||
| Change from |
Change from |
||||||
| May |
April |
May |
April 2014 |
May 2013 |
|||
| 2014 |
2014 |
2013 |
volume |
percent |
volume |
percent |
|
| Total Nonfarm Jobs |
5,794.9 |
5,770.2 |
5,732.5 |
24.7 |
0.4% |
62.4 |
1.1% |
| Goods Producing Industries |
832.8 |
828.7 |
824.8 |
4.1 |
0.5% |
8.0 |
1.0% |
| Mining & Logging |
37.5 |
36.5 |
35.9 |
1.0 |
2.7% |
1.6 |
4.5% |
| Construction |
236.8 |
234.6 |
225.5 |
2.2 |
0.9% |
11.3 |
5.0% |
| Manufacturing |
558.5 |
557.6 |
563.4 |
0.9 |
0.2% |
-4.9 |
-0.9% |
| Service Providing Industries |
4,962.1 |
4,941.5 |
4,907.7 |
20.6 |
0.4% |
54.4 |
1.1% |
| Trade, Transportation & Utilities |
1,108.2 |
1,107.4 |
1,100.9 |
0.8 |
0.1% |
7.3 |
0.7% |
| Information |
85.8 |
86.2 |
88.2 |
-0.4 |
-0.5% |
-2.4 |
-2.7% |
| Financial Activities |
316.0 |
314.7 |
312.3 |
1.3 |
0.4% |
3.7 |
1.2% |
| Professional & Business Services |
761.6 |
759.2 |
747.8 |
2.4 |
0.3% |
13.8 |
1.8% |
| Education & Health Services |
1,167.9 |
1,162.0 |
1,155.2 |
5.9 |
0.5% |
12.7 |
1.1% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
550.0 |
543.2 |
529.9 |
6.8 |
1.3% |
20.1 |
3.8% |
| Other Services |
255.7 |
254.9 |
252.0 |
0.8 |
0.3% |
3.7 |
1.5% |
| Government |
716.9 |
713.9 |
721.4 |
3.0 |
0.4% |
-4.5 |
-0.6% |
For a more detailed breakdown of seasonally adjusted jobs data at the sector level, please contact the Center for Workforce Information & Analysis at 1-877-4WF-DATA, or visit www.paworkstats.pa.gov
Note: June 2014 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released July 18, 2014.
SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry
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