State jobless rate falls to 10.3% in August
Pennsylvania’s employment picture was a lot more positive in August.
The unemployment rate dropped to 10.3%, 2.2 percentage points lower than the July figure, the state Department of Labor & Industry reported Friday morning.
Foremost among the report’s highlights were that non-farm jobs increased by 59,500 over the month, and 52.4% of jobs lost statewide in March and April have been recovered.
That latest jobless figure is in stark contrast with the pre-pandemic Keystone State rate of 4.7% in February, and 4.5% in August 2019.
COVID-19 struck Pennsylvania in mid-March, creating massive job losses and pushing the April figure to a pandemic-high rate of 16.1%. The state rate has remained in double figures, percentage-wise, for the past five months. All figures are seasonally adjusted.
The national rate declined 1.8 points in August to 8.4%, which is 4.7% above its August 2019 level.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – estimated number of residents working or looking for work – dropped by 59,000 over the month. Individuals listed as unemployed fell by 144,000, while employment increased by 86,000.
Non-farm jobs jumped to 5,577,900 in August, as jobs increased in nine of 11 industry supersectors. Trade, transportation and utilities led the way with 19,600 more jobs.
Year over year, total non-farm jobs were down 499,600, with declines posted in 10 supersectors. Leisure and hospitality experienced the largest change, a dropoff of 163,000 jobs.
For more information, visit www.dli.pa.gov.