HARRISBURG, Pa- The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its employment situation report for February 2016.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was unchanged from January at 4.6 percent, the lowest rate since September 2007. Pennsylvania’s rate remained below that of the United States, which was also unchanged at 4.9 percent. The commonwealth’s rate was down seven-tenths of a percentage point since February 2015 while the national rate declined by six-tenths of a percentage point over the year.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force was up 21,000 in February to 6,471,000. Resident employment rose by 17,000 while the unemployment count increased by 4,000.
Total non-farm jobs increased 21,100 to a record high of 5,876,200 in February. The largest gain was in education & health services, which added 12,200 jobs due mostly to educational services. The largest drop was in manufacturing, which decreased following three consecutive gains.
Over the year, total non-farm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 53,300 (+0.9%). All seven private service-providing super sectors added jobs from February 2015, while all three goods-producing supersectors declined and government was unchanged. The largest increase from last year was in education & health services (+16,400), while the largest decline was in mining & logging (-9,100).
Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.
