May 31, 2017 2 min read

Jobless rates in Washington and Greene counties rose in April, according to the latest state statistics.

The state Department of Labor & Industry said Tuesday the preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Washington County was 5.5 percent, up 0.3 percent from March, but 1.1 percent below the 6.6 percent rate for April 2016.

Greene County’s preliminary jobless rate of 6 percent was 0.4 percent above the March rate of 5.6 percent, but 2.3 percent below the 8.3 percent rate recorded for April of a year ago.

In Washington County, which has a seasonally adjusted labor force of 106,900, there were 5,900 unemployed in April.

Greene County, with a labor force of 17,400, had 1,100 without work last month.

The local rates reflected a slight uptick in unemployment at the regional level.

According to L&I’s Center for Workforce Information & Analysis in Harrisburg, the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area recorded a jobless rate of 5.3 percent in April, up 0.2 percent from March, but 0.5 percent below the April 2016 rate of 5.8 percent

In addition to Washington County, the Pittsburgh MSA includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland counties and the city of Pittsburgh.

Butler County had the lowest unemployment rate at 4.9 percent, while Fayette County held the highest rate of the seven counties at 7.2 percent. Unemployment rates across Pennsylvania ranged from 3.8 percent in Adams, Chester and Lancaster counties to 8.1 percent in Cameron County.

According to CWIA, in April, seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA decreased 3,200 to 1,171,600. Over the year, jobs were up 0.6 percent (+7,500) in the MSA, while statewide jobs grew 0.8 percent.

The largest gain this month was in construction, with jobs increasing 4,800. Professional and business services and leisure and hospitality followed with jobs up 4,400 and 3,400 respectively. Durable goods and health care and social assistance tied for the largest decrease in jobs (-600).