Jun 17, 2016 2 min read

HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate for May rose two-tenths of a percentage point from April to 5.5 percent, according to the latest state statistics.

The state Department of Labor & Industry said in a news release Friday Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force was up 15,000 in May to a record high of 6,541,000. Resident employment declined by 2,000 while the unemployment count increased by 17,000.

According to L&I, total nonfarm jobs decreased 10,200 to 5,871,000. Seven of the 11 supersectors declined in May, with five down by at least 2,000 jobs. The largest was in information (-4,500), which was directly impacted by the strike at Verizon. The strongest gain was in education and health services (+3,400), which rose to its highest point on record.

Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 39,200 (+0.07 percent). Despite the overall increase, six of the 11 supersector jobs were down from May 2015. The largest increase from last year was in education and health services (+26,100), while the largest decline was in mining & logging (-8,900).

Pennsylvania’s May rate remained above that of the United States, which is currently 4.7 percent, which is down 0.03 percent from April. The commonwealth’s latest rate was up 0.03 percent since May 2015, while the national rate declined by 0.08 percent over the year.