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Washington, Greene see slight increase in unemployment rates
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The unemployment rates in Washington and Greene counties saw a slight uptick in August, according to preliminary state figures released Tuesday.
The state Department of Labor & Industry said the 7 percent preliminary seasonally adjusted August jobless rate in Washington County was up 0.1 percent from July’s final rate of 6.9 percent. The latest rate was 0.5 percent below the August 2012 final rate of 7.5 percent.
Greene County’s preliminary August rate of 6.3 percent, was also up 0.1 percent from the July final rate of 6.2 percent, but remained 0.7 percent below last August’s final rate of 7 percent.
In Washington County, which has a seasonally adjusted civilian labor force of 109,400, there were 7,700 without work during August.
Greene County, which has a seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 22,500, saw 1,400 without work during the most recent reporting period.
The small increase in the jobless rate experienced by the two counties mirrored the performance of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, which ended August with a 6.8 percent rate, also 0.1 percent above the July final rate of 6.7 percent. The MSA’s August rate was 0.5 percent below the August 2012 rate of 7.3 percent.
In addition to Washington County, the Pittsburgh MSA includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland counties and the city of Pittsburgh.
According to a press release from L&I’s Center for Workforce Information & Analysis, the increase in the Pittsburgh MSA ended six consecutive months of rate declines fore the MSA and was the first increase in the unemployment rate since January. The statewide rate rose 0.2 percent to 7.7 percent compared to the U.S. rate which fell by one-tenth to 7.3 percent.
The workforce center said seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA increased by 400 in August to a record high 1,171,800. Over the year, jobs in the MSA have expanded by 1.3 percent (15,300), nearly double the statewide rate of 0.7 percent (39,100 jobs).
The center specifically noted the following changes by industry:
• Education and health services fell by 1,400 jobs, with seasonal declines across both the educational services sector (-800) and health care and social assistance (-600).
• Jobs in leisure and hospitality declined to 120,700 in August, down 1,900 from the previous month and the first drop fore the industry since February.
• Local government followed typical seasonal movements, dropping by 1,000 jobs evenly split between educational and noneducational services.