Washington, Greene unemployment rates rise
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Apparently, budgetary cutbacks in the oil and natural gas industry affected the regional job picture in January, as unemployment rates rose in Washington and Greene counties.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released seasonally adjusted figures Tuesday, listing Washington’s rate as 5.0 percent, up 0.1 of a point from December, and Greene’s at 4.7 percent, a leap from 3.9.
Each county’s labor force dropped precipitously in January. Washington’s workforce fell by 2,700 (107.800 to 105,100) over the month, Greene’s by 3,200 (21,600 to 18,400). The rates rose because the number of people listed as unemployed remained the same in both – 5,300 in Washington, 900 in Greene.
Those figures, however, remained below the U.S. (5.7) and Pennsylvania (5.1) rates. Washington has been under the national number for 23 of the past 24 months and at or below the state figure for at least the past 28 months. Greene has been below both sets of numbers for at least the past 28 months.
Unemployment in both local counties is significantly lower than it was in January 2014, when Washington was at 6.0 percent, a full point higher, and Greene was at 5.4, 0.7 percent higher.
Washington is one of seven counties in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 5.2 percent January jobless rate, a rise of 0.5 points from December but 0.7 down over the year. The MSA also includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland.
Butler (4.5) had the lowest figure and Fayette (6.4) the highest in the MSA. Fayette, however, is 0.8 points down over the year. Six of the seven counties experienced a spike, the exception being Armstrong, which fell from 5.8 percent in December to 5.7.
Washington and Westmoreland tied for the second-lowest figure in the MSA, behind Butler and Allegheny and ahead of Allegheny (5.1), Armstrong, Beaver (5.9) and Fayette.
Chester County had the lowest rate in the state, 3.8 percent, and Philadelphia County the highest, 7.2.
Nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA increased by 4,500 in January to 1,170,000, and were up 12,300 for the year. But construction jobs, because of winter weather, were down 5,200.
Post-holiday season staff reductions resulted in 7,600 cuts in retail trade and 2,500 in transportation and warehousing.