State unemployment rate holds steady at 5.3 percent
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Pennsylvania had a 5.3 percent unemployment rate in April, the same as in March.
That is below the U.S. rate of 5.4 percent, according the state Department of Labor & Industry, which released seasonally adjusted figures Friday. Pennsylvania’s rate was below the U.S. figure for the past 16 months.
The state rate is seven-tenths of a point below its April 2014 figure, but above 5.0 in December. The national figure likewise dropped significantly over the year, by eight-tenths of a point.
The civilian labor force increased by 19,000 statewide in April, to 6,393,000. Resident employment rose 14,000; unemployment was up 4,000.
Nonfarm jobs reached a record 5,845,800 in April, up 27,000, with private and public sectors adding jobs.
Nine of 11 supersectors increased from the previous month, the largest increase being in construction (10,000).
Nonfarm jobs increased by 64,400 (1.1 percent) over the year, growth coming mostly in private industries. The biggest gains were in trade; transportation and utilities; leisure and hospitality; and construction.
Information and government were the only supersectors that declined from a year earlier.