PA Unemployment Rate Falls to 5.7% in April; Lowest Rate Since September 2008
HARRISBURG, Pa., May 16, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its employment situation report for April 2014.
Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined by three-tenths of a percentage point in April to 5.7 percent, the lowest rate since September 2008. The commonwealth's rate was six-tenths of a percentage point below the U.S. rate of 6.3 percent, which was down by four-tenths of a point from March. The state rate was down 1.9 percentage points from its April 2013 rate of 7.6 percent.
Pennsylvania's civilian labor force – the number of people working or looking for work – was essentially unchanged in April. Resident employment, however, was up 23,000, marking the eighth consecutive gain and the fourth straight increase exceeding 10,000. The number of unemployed residents decreased by 22,000 to its lowest level since September 2008. This was the ninth consecutive decline and one of the largest on record.
Total nonfarm jobs grew by 10,900 in April to reach 5,768,800, the highest level since October 2008. The gain was concentrated in the private sector, which added 11,600 jobs while public sector jobs fell by 700. The largest gain was in professional & business services (+8,100), which reached a record high at 759,000 jobs. Construction also added a large amount of jobs in April, up 6,500, the third gain in the last four months.
Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 34,400 (+0.6%). The growth was primarily within private industries, with the largest gains in leisure & hospitality (+14,600) and professional & business services (+12,700).
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 |
|||||||
| April |
March |
April |
Change from |
Change from Volume percent |
|||
| PA |
|||||||
| Civilian Labor Force |
6,443 |
6,441 |
6,483 |
2 |
0.0% |
-40 |
-0.6% |
| Employment |
6,075 |
6,052 |
5,991 |
23 |
0.4% |
84 |
1.4% |
| Unemployment |
368 |
390 |
492 |
-22 |
-5.6% |
-124 |
-25.2% |
| Rate |
5.7 |
6.0 |
7.6 |
-0.3 |
---- |
-1.9 |
---- |
| U.S. |
|||||||
| Civilian Labor Force |
155,421 |
156,227 |
155,359 |
-806 |
-0.5% |
62 |
0.0% |
| Employment |
145,669 |
145,742 |
143,676 |
-73 |
-0.1% |
1,992 |
1.4% |
| Unemployment |
9,753 |
10,486 |
11,683 |
-733 |
-7.0% |
-1,930 |
-16.5% |
| Rate |
6.3 |
6.7 |
7.5 |
-0.4 |
---- |
-1.2 |
---- |
| Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment |
|||||||
| Seasonally Adjusted (in thousands) |
|||||||
| April 2014 |
March 2014 |
April 2013 |
Change from March 2014 volume percent |
Change from April 2013 volume percent |
|||
| Total Nonfarm Jobs |
5,768.8 |
5,757.9 |
5,734.4 |
10.9 |
0.2% |
34.4 |
0.6% |
| Goods Producing Industries |
830.7 |
825.7 |
825.3 |
5.0 |
0.6% |
5.4 |
0.7% |
| Mining & Logging |
36.5 |
36.5 |
35.9 |
0.0 |
0.0% |
0.6 |
1.7% |
| Construction |
235.2 |
228.7 |
225.4 |
6.5 |
2.8% |
9.8 |
4.3% |
| Manufacturing |
559.0 |
560.5 |
564.0 |
-1.5 |
-0.3% |
-5.0 |
-0.9% |
| Service Providing Industries |
4,938.1 |
4,932.2 |
4,909.1 |
5.9 |
0.1% |
29.0 |
0.6% |
| Trade, Transportation & Utilities |
1,104.8 |
1,106.6 |
1,101.5 |
-1.8 |
-0.2% |
3.3 |
0.3% |
| Information |
85.8 |
87.1 |
88.5 |
-1.3 |
-1.5% |
-2.7 |
-3.1% |
| Financial Activities |
314.4 |
313.7 |
312.1 |
0.7 |
0.2% |
2.3 |
0.7% |
| Professional & Business Services |
759.0 |
750.9 |
746.3 |
8.1 |
1.1% |
12.7 |
1.7% |
| Education & Health Services |
1,162.5 |
1,159.9 |
1,157.2 |
2.6 |
0.2% |
5.3 |
0.5% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
543.5 |
547.2 |
528.9 |
-3.7 |
-0.7% |
14.6 |
2.8% |
| Other Services |
255.5 |
253.5 |
251.7 |
2.0 |
0.8% |
3.8 |
1.5% |
| Government |
712.6 |
713.3 |
722.9 |
-0.7 |
-0.1% |
-10.3 |
-1.4% |
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: May 2014 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released June 20, 2014.
SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry
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