Jobless rate up slightly in Washington County, steady in Greene
Washington County saw its jobless rate uptick slightly in December, while Greene County’s rate stood pat, according to the latest state statistics released Tuesday.
The state Department of Labor & Industry said Washington County’s preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December was 6.1 percent, up 0.1 percent from November’s final rate of 6.0 percent and 0.8 percent above the December 2015 final rate of 5.3 percent.
Greene County’s preliminary rate of 6.8 percent matched its final rate for November, but was 0.7 percent higher than the 6.1 percent rate of December 2015.
In Washington County, which has a seasonally adjusted civilian workforce of 107,200, there were 6,500 without work in December.
In Greene County, where the labor force is 18,500, there were 1,300 jobless in the most recent reporting month.
According to a news release from L&I’s Center for Workforce Information & Analysis in Harrisburg, both counties were above the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 5.7 percent in December, which was down 0.1 percent from November, but 0.9 percent higher from December of 2015.
The latest regional rate is 0.1 percent below the Pennsylvania rate of 5.6 percent. The current U.S. rate is 4.7 percent.
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 5.2 percent, while Fayette County held the highest rate of the seven counties at 8.1 percent.
Statewide, unemployment rates ranged from 4.0 percent in Chester County to 8.4 percent in Cameron County.
In December, seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA decreased 1,400 to 1,167,100.
In December, the good-producing sector, which includes mining, construction and manufacturing, stood at a total of 144,000 jobs (non-seasonally adjusted) in the Pittsburgh MSA, down 4,500 positions from December 2015.