Area jobless rates mostly unchanged
Washington County saw its monthly jobless rate decline slightly in October, while Greene County’s rate stood pat, according to the latest state statistics.
The state Department of Labor & Industry reported Wednesday Washington County’s preliminary unemployment rate for October was 6.4 percent, down 0.1 percent from September’s final rate of 6.5 percent. However, the latest rate was a full percentage point above September 2015’s rate of 5.4 percent.
Greene County’s preliminary rate of 7.5 percent matched its September rate, but was 1.5 percent higher than the October 2015 rate.
Both counties remained above the October preliminary rate of 6.0 percent for the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, which was unchanged from September, but was up a full percentage point from September 2015.
In addition to Washington County, the Pittsburgh MSA includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland counties and the city of Pittsburgh.
Within the Pittsburgh MSA, Butler County had the lowest rate at 5.5 percent, while Fayette County held the highest rate of the seven counties at 8.4 percent.
The Pittsburgh region’s latest jobless rate was the 13th lowest among the 18 MSAs, but remains above both Pennsylvania’s current rate of 5.8 percent and the national rate of 4.9 percent.
According to L&I’s Center for Workforce Information & Analysis, seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA increased 2,100 to 1,166,100. Over the year, jobs were up 0.3 percent (+3,800) in the MSA, while statewide jobs grew 0.7 percent.