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Jobless rate up slightly in Washington. unchanged in Greene

2 min read

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The unemployment rate for Washington County rose slightly in February and remained the same in Greene.

Washington’s figure inched up to 3.8 percent, one-tenth of a point higher than in January, while Greene’s rate stayed at 4.2, according to seasonally adjusted statistics released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor & Industry.

Despite a large plummet in January, Washington County’s jobless figure has risen five of the past six months.

The February rate in each county was more than a full percentage point below that of February 2018. Washington’s figure at that time was 4.9 percent, Greene’s 5.5.

Washington is one of seven counties comprising the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, where the February rate dropped to 3.6 percent from 3.8.

Pennsylvania’s figure dipped one-tenth to 4.0 percent, while the U.S. rate dropped two-tenths to 3.8.

Washington’s labor force, according to Labor & Industry, was 106,800 in February, up 500 from the previous month, and employment jumped by 400 (to 102,800). About 100 more county residents (4,000) were listed as unemployed.

Greene’s labor force (16,800) and number of employed (16,100) each increased by 100. About 700 were classified as unemployed, the same as in January.

Washington, Westmoreland and Beaver tied for the third-lowest countywide rate in the MSA, which also consists of Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler and Fayette counties, plus Pittsburgh. Butler County had the lowest unemployment figure in the MSA, 3.3 percent, followed by Allegheny (3.6); Washington, Beaver and Westmoreland; Armstrong (4.2) and Fayette (5.0).

Fayette’s figure was unchanged from January, and was down dramatically from 6.4 percent the previous February.

The Pittsburgh and Reading MSAs tied for the ninth-lowest rate among Pennsylvania’s 18 MSAs. The Gettysburg and State College MSAs had the lowest rate (2.8) and East Stroudsburg (4.6) the highest.

Among the state’s 67 counties, rates ranged from 2.8 percent in Adams, Centre and Chester to 5.8 in Forest.

Nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA stayed about the same (1,193,600) over the month. Year over year, jobs were up by 0.7 percent in the MSA (8,100) and statewide.

The education and health services supersector posted the largest gain during the month – 5,900 jobs. Government had the second-largest increase (4,700), while the trade, transportation and utilities supersector experienced the largest decrease (2,700).

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