Jul 29, 2014 2 min read

The unemployment rates for Washington and Greene counties dipped in June, their figures once again falling below those of the state and nation.

Seasonally adjusted numbers released by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Tuesday pegged Washington County joblessness at 5.4 percent and Greene’s at 4.5 percent, almost a full point lower.

Washington’s rate fell from 5.6 percent in May, and has plummeted 1.7 points from June 2013, when unemployment was 7.1 percent. Greene’s dropoff is even more impressive, from 4.8 percent in May and 6.5 percent – two full points – from the previous June.

Both counties’ rates are below those of the United States (6.1 percent) and Pennsylvania (5.6) for June.

Washington County was under the national figure 16 of the past 17 months and at or below the Pennsylvania rate for at least the past 21 months.

Greene’s jobless figure was beneath both sets of numbers for at least the past 21 months.

Washington is one of seven counties in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had 5.3 percent unemployment in June, down 0.2 percent from May and well below 6.8 percent from a year earlier. That was the 13th consecutive monthly decline of at least 0.1 percent in the MSA, which also includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland.

Each of those counties experienced a decrease in unemployment from the previous month.

Allegheny and Butler tied for the lowest jobless rate in the MSA (4.9 percent) during June, and Fayette (6.4) had the highest. Fayette’s figure, however, improved a full point from 7.4 percent in May.

Washington had the fourth-lowest rate, behind Westmoreland (5.2) and ahead of Armstrong and Beaver (both 6.2).

Of the 14 MSAs, State College had the lowest unemployment (4.1 percent) and Scranton-Wilkes-Barre the highest (6.9).

Nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA increased by 2,000 in June to 1.165 million. Over the year, jobs there increased by 10,300 (0.9 percent) and by 1.0 percent statewide.