Unemployment rate rises in Washington, Greene
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The jobless rate in Washington and Greene counties rose in November, according to the latest state data.
The state Department of Labor & Industry said Wednesday the November seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Washington County was 5 percent, up 0.3 percent from October’s final rate of 4.7 percent. The latest rate was 1.0 percent below the November 2016 final rate of 6 percent.
Greene County seasonally adjusted rate for November was 5.6 percent, up 0.4 percent from October’s final rate of 5.2 percent. It was 1.7 percent below the November 2016 rate of 7.3 percent.
In Washington County, which has a seasonally adjusted labor force of 106,000, there were 5,300 without work in November.
Greene County, which has a labor force of 17,100, had 1,000 jobless in November.
The results, which are preliminary, mirrored the movement of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, which saw seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rise 0.1 percent to 4.8 percent in November. The regional rate is 0.2 percent higher than the current Pennsylvania rate of 4.6 percent and 0.7 percent higher than the U.S. rate of 4.1 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, Allegheny tied with Butler County for the lowest unemployment rate at 4.6 percent, while Fayette County held the highest rate of the seven counties at 6.7 percent.
According to L&I’s Center for Workforce Information & Analysis in Harrisburg, Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA increased 1,700 to 1,180,200, a new record high. Over the year, jobs were up 1.3 percent (+15,100) in the MSA, while statewide jobs grew 1.1 percent
Trade, transportation and utilities had the largest over-the-month job increase of any supersector (+3,900), as local retailers and transportation and warehousing facilities continued hiring seasonal workers for the holiday shopping season. The largest declines were in leisure and hospitality (-2,400) and construction (-600).