Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its employment situation report for September 2014.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate declined by one-tenth of a percentage point to 5.7 percent in September. The commonwealth’s rate was two-tenths of a percentage point below the U.S. rate of 5.9 percent. Since September 2013, the state rate was down by 1.6 percentage points while the national rate declined by 1.3.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – the number of people working or looking for work – was essentially unchanged in September. Employment rose by 11,000 persons while unemployment was down 8,000.
Total nonfarm jobs decreased by 9,600 in September to 5,782,600. This was the third consecutive monthly decline and was due to drops in both the private and public sectors. The largest movement in September was a decline of 6,700 trade, transportation & utilities jobs.
Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 35,400 (+0.6%). The growth was almost entirely within private industries, with the largest gains in trade, transportation & utilities, education & health services, and professional & business services.
Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.
