Jobless rates drop significantly in Washington, Greene counties
Unemployment rates plummeted in Washington and Greene counties in January.
Washington’s figure fell to 3.7 percent, six-tenths of a point down from December, while Greene’s rate plunged seven-tenths to 4.2, according to seasonally adjusted statistics released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor & Industry. This was a major turnaround for Washington County, where the jobless figure had risen four of the previous five months.
The January rate in each county was more than a full percentage point below that of January 2018. Washington’s figure at that time was 4.9 percent, Greene’s 5.7.
Washington is one of seven counties comprising the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, where the January rate dropped to 3.8 percent from 4.2.
Pennsylvania’s figure dipped one-tenth to 4.1 percent, while the U.S. rate rose one-tenth to 4.0.
Washington’s labor force, according to Labor & Industry, was 106,100 in January, down 1,000 from the previous month, while employment dropped by 300 (to 102,200). But 700 fewer county residents (3,900) were listed as unemployed.
Greene’s labor force (16,700) decreased by 100, while the number of employed (16,000) was the same as in December. About 700 were classified as unemployed, a drop of 100.
Washington had the third-lowest countywide rate in the MSA, which also consists of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland counties, plus Pittsburgh. Butler County had the lowest unemployment figure in the MSA, 3.4 percent, followed by Allegheny (3.5); Washington; Beaver and Westmoreland (both 3.8); Armstrong (4.1) and Fayette (5.0).
Yet despite having the MSA’s highest rate, Fayette’s figure dropped dramatically over the month, from 5.8 percent, and even more so from January 2018, when unemployment was at 6.7 percent.
The Pittsburgh and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington MSAs tied for the 10th-lowest rate among Pennsylvania’s 18 MSAs. Gettysburg had the lowest MSA rate (2.8) and East Stroudsburg (4.8) the highest.
Among the state’s 67 counties, rates ranged from 2.8 percent in Adams and Chester to 5.6 in Forest.
Nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA stayed about the same (1,191,600) over the month. Year over year, jobs were up by 0.8 percent (9,300) in the MSA and statewide.
All supersectors experienced seasonal job declines in January. The trade, transportation and utilities supersector had the largest dropoff (8,100), due largely to the release of holiday workers. Within that supersector, retail trade hit a record-low 117,700 jobs.