Jobless rates up slightly in Washington, Greene counties
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Washington County and Greene County each experienced a one-tenth of a percentage point increase in its unemployment rate for September.
Washington’s jobless figure rose to 4.4% and Greene’s to 4.8%, according to seasonally adjusted statistics released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor & Industry.
Both rates are higher than the Pennsylvania (4.0) and national (3.5) figures for September. Washington County’s rate has not been below that of the state and/or nation since March, when the county was at 3.7%, Pennsylvania at 3.9% and the U.S. 3.8%.
Neither local county posted a rate decrease compared with September 2018. Washington’s figure rose two-tenths over the year, from 4.2%, while Greene’s remained the same.
Washington is one of seven counties in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, where the rate increased one-tenth of a point in September to 4.0%.
Washington’s labor force, according to Labor & Industry, was 107,300, up 600 from August. Employment also rose over the month, to 102,600 from 102,200, an increase of 400. But the number of residents listed as unemployed jumped by 200, to 4,800.
Greene’s labor force remained at 16,700 over the month, and the number listed as employed (15,900) and unemployed (800) stayed the same.
At 4.4%, Washington and Beaver tied for the fourth-lowest countywide rate in the MSA (which also includes Pittsburgh). Butler County once more had the lowest figure, 3.8%, followed by Allegheny (4.0) and Westmoreland (4.3). Armstrong (4.8) was sixth and Fayette (5.8) seventh.
Unemployment increased in September in five of those counties – all except Beaver and Armstrong, where the rates remained steady.
Centre (2.9%) had the lowest jobless rate among the state’s 67 counties. Forest (6.1%) had the highest.
The Pittsburgh MSA lost 2,500 seasonally adjusted non-farm jobs in September, lowering the total to 1,189,200. That figure, however, was up 2,400 over the year. Statewide, jobs rose 0.5% from the previous September.
Among supersectors in the MSA, government posted the largest gain in jobs (8,500) over the month, followed by education & health services (7,100), which was boosted by the resumption of classes in local schools, colleges and universities. Leisure & hospitality experienced the largest decline (5,800).