Aug 1, 2017 2 min read

Unemployment rates in Washington and Greene counties declined in June, according to state statistics released Tuesday.

The state Department of Labor & Industry said the June preliminary jobless rate in Washington County was 5.2 percent, down 0.4 percent from May’s final rate of 5.6 percent. The latest rate was also down a full percentage point from the June 2016 rate of 6.2 percent.

Greene County, which had a preliminary June jobless rate of 5.6 percent, saw its rate fall 0.6 percent from May’s 6.2 percent and 2.3 percent from June 2016 when unemployment was 7.9 percent.

In Washington County, which has a seasonally adjusted workforce of 106,100, there were 5,600 without work in June.

Greene County, which has a seasonally adjusted workforce of 17,200, had 1,000 unemployed in June.

The local figures reflected a decline in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, which posted a preliminary June rate of 5.1 percent, down 0.3 percent from the final May rate of 5.4 percent, and 0.6 percent below the June 2016 rate of 5.7 percent.

In addition to Washington County, the Pittsburgh MSA includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland counties and the city of Pittsburgh.

The region’s lower unemployment rate was just above the Pennsylvania current rate of 5.0 and 0.7 percent above the current U.S. rate of 4.4 percent.

According to L&I’s Center for Workforce Information & Analysis in Harrisburg, in June, seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA decreased 2,900 to 1,168,800.

Over the year, jobs were up 0.9 percent (+10,900) in the MSA, while statewide jobs grew 1.3 percent.

CWIA noted that as outdoor recreational businesses and eateries continued to hire seasonal staff, leisure and hospitality had the largest over-the-month gain of any industry (+4,900). Colleges and universities had the largest decline (-5,400) due to summer break at local area schools.