Report: May jobless rate falls locally, regionally
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The May jobless rate declined in Washington and Greene counties, according to the latest state data released Tuesday.
According to the state Department of Labor & Industry, the May preliminary seasonally adjusted rate of 6.9 percent in Washington County was 0.2 percent lower than April’s final rate of 7.1 percent. It was also 0.4 percent below the 7.3 percent final rate of May 2012.
In Greene County, the preliminary May rate of 6.5 percent was 0.2 percent lower than the April final rate of 6.7 percent and matched the rate of May of last year.
In Washington County, which has a seasonally adjusted labor force of 110,100, there were 7,600 without work during May.
Greene County, which has a seasonally adjusted labor force of 22,400, had 1,500 unemployed during the latest reporting period.
The local reduction in unemployment reflected a similar trend in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, where the where the seasonally adjusted jobless rate declined 0.2 percent in May to 6.9 percent.
In addition to Washington County, the Pittsburgh MSA includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland counties and the city of Pittsburgh.
According to L&I’s Center for Workforce Information & Analysis in Harrisburg, May was the fourth consecutive month of decline, with the MSA’s unemployment rate dropping below 7 percent for the first time since February 2012. Pennsylvania’s rate was down 0.1 percent to 7.5 percent while the national rate increased one-tenth to 7.6 percent.
Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA increased to a record high 1,170,500 in May, a gain of 1,000 jobs over the month. With job gains recorded in nine of the past 12 months, the MSA was up 12,900 jobs, or 1.1 percent, from the previous year.
Detailed industry data for the Pittsburgh MSA (not seasonally adjusted) showed strong movements across seasonal industries in May, including construction businesses, which added 2,100 jobs over the month and leisure and hospitality, up by 5,300 jobs.
Not all seasonal change brought growth however, as some colleges and universities market the end of the academic year in May, driving education and health services down 4,800 positions from the previous month.