DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa.– Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released its employment situation report for April 2018. As unemployment declined, the number of jobs in the commonwealth reached a record high for the thirteenth consecutive month.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate declined one-tenth of a percentage point from March to 4.7 percent.
This was the first decrease in the rate after 10 consecutive months at 4.8 percent. The commonwealth’s rate remained above the U.S. rate, which fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.9 percent in April. Since April 2017, the Pennsylvania unemployment rate declined by two-tenths of a percentage point.
The estimated number of Pennsylvania residents working or looking for work, known as the civilian labor force, was down 16,000 over the month to 6,378,000 as both components (employment and unemployment) declined. Resident employment and unemployment were also each down over the past twelve months, by 36,000 and 21,000, respectively.
The estimated number of jobs in Pennsylvania, referred to as total nonfarm jobs, was up 9,100 from March to a record high of 6,015,300. Highlights from this month’s jobs report include:
· Thirteenth consecutive record month
· Jobs were up in six of the 11 industry supersectors
· Record levels of jobs in professional & business services, education & health services, and other services
· Professional & business services experienced the largest gain in April, up 5,100
Since April 2017, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 1.4 percent. During this same timeframe, nine supersectors in the commonwealth added jobs with increases ranging from 2,200 in mining & logging to 37,800 in education & health services.
Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
SOURCE: PA Department of Labor & Industry
