PA Unemployment Rate Declines to 4.6% in January
HARRISBURG, Pa., March 4, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its employment situation report for January 2016.
Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was down one-tenth of a percentage point in January to 4.6 percent, the lowest rate since September 2007. Pennsylvania's rate remained below that of the United States, which also declined one-tenth of a percentage point from December to 4.9 percent. The commonwealth's rate was down seven-tenths of a percentage point since January 2015 while the national rate declined by eight-tenths of a percentage point over the year.
Pennsylvania's civilian labor force was up 11,000 in January to 6,448,000. Resident employment rose by 16,000 while the unemployment count declined by 5,000.
Total nonfarm jobs were down 16,100 from December's record high level to 5,852,000 in January. The largest drop was in education & health services, which fell 11,200 from a record high in December. The largest gain was in manufacturing, which increased for the third consecutive month.
Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 34,500 (+0.6%). All eight service-providing supersectors added jobs from January 2015, while all three goods-producing supersectors declined. The largest increase from last year was in leisure & hospitality (+16,600), while the largest decline was in mining & logging (-9,300).
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)
| January 2016 |
December 2015 |
January 2015 |
Change from December 2015 |
Change from January 2015 |
|||
| volume |
percent |
volume |
percent |
||||
| PA |
|||||||
| Civilian Labor Force |
6,448 |
6,437 |
6,415 |
11 |
0.2% |
33 |
0.5% |
| Employment |
6,153 |
6,137 |
6,073 |
16 |
0.3% |
80 |
1.3% |
| Unemployment |
295 |
300 |
342 |
-5 |
-1.7% |
-47 |
-13.7% |
| Rate |
4.6 |
4.7 |
5.3 |
-0.1 |
---- |
-0.7 |
---- |
| U.S. |
|||||||
| Civilian Labor Force |
158,335 |
157,833 |
157,025 |
502 |
0.3% |
1,310 |
0.8% |
| Employment |
150,544 |
149,929 |
148,104 |
615 |
0.4% |
2,440 |
1.6% |
| Unemployment |
7,791 |
7,904 |
8,920 |
-113 |
-1.4% |
-1,129 |
-12.7% |
| Rate |
4.9 |
5.0 |
5.7 |
-0.1 |
---- |
-0.8 |
---- |
Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)
| January |
December |
January |
Change from |
Change from |
|||
| 2016 |
2015 |
2015 |
volume |
percent |
volume |
percent |
|
| Total Nonfarm Jobs |
5,852.0 |
5,868.1 |
5,817.5 |
-16.1 |
-0.3% |
34.5 |
0.6% |
| Goods Producing Industries |
828.8 |
828.8 |
842.3 |
0.0 |
0.0% |
-13.5 |
-1.6% |
| Mining & Logging |
29.7 |
30.7 |
39.0 |
-1.0 |
-3.3% |
-9.3 |
-23.8% |
| Construction |
229.5 |
231.7 |
233.1 |
-2.2 |
-0.9% |
-3.6 |
-1.5% |
| Manufacturing |
569.6 |
566.4 |
570.2 |
3.2 |
0.6% |
-0.6 |
-0.1% |
| Service Providing Industries |
5,023.2 |
5,039.3 |
4,975.2 |
-16.1 |
-0.3% |
48.0 |
1.0% |
| Trade, Transportation & Utilities |
1,124.6 |
1,130.2 |
1,117.8 |
-5.6 |
-0.5% |
6.8 |
0.6% |
| Information |
85.8 |
85.6 |
84.6 |
0.2 |
0.2% |
1.2 |
1.4% |
| Financial Activities |
318.5 |
315.8 |
315.2 |
2.7 |
0.9% |
3.3 |
1.0% |
| Professional & Business Services |
776.7 |
778.3 |
773.3 |
-1.6 |
-0.2% |
3.4 |
0.4% |
| Education & Health Services |
1,195.0 |
1,206.2 |
1,185.2 |
-11.2 |
-0.9% |
9.8 |
0.8% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
557.3 |
557.5 |
540.7 |
-0.2 |
0.0% |
16.6 |
3.1% |
| Other Services |
260.1 |
258.9 |
254.4 |
1.2 |
0.5% |
5.7 |
2.2% |
| Government |
705.2 |
706.8 |
704.0 |
-1.6 |
-0.2% |
1.2 |
0.2% |
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: February 2016 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released March 18, 2016.
SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry
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