Pa. jobless decline highest in 30 years
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HARRISBURG – The number of unemployed in Pennsylvania fell by 16,000 in November, the largest decline since 1983 and the second largest decline on record, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry.
The department said in a press release Friday that the unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in November, down 0.3 percent from the October rate of 8.1 percent, and the lowest rate for Pennsylvania since June.
The November jobs report brings the total job count, which includes private and public sector jobs, to 5,751,400, the highest level since November 2008. Fueling the job growth was a gain of 7,200 private sector jobs in November, while public sector jobs decreased by 5,300.
According to L&I, Pennsylvania’s job total has risen in each of the past four months. In November the largest gains were experienced by the leisure and hospitality sector; education and health services; and manufacturing.
Since January 2011 the state has added 109,400 private sector jobs with 51,000 of those being added this year.
The department, which will release county by county statistics for November on Jan. 3, said Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 7.8 percent was 0.1 percent higher than the U.S. rate of 7.7 percent.