PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Editor's note: The above video is from Nov. 5, 2021.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry announced today in a press release that Pa.'s unemployment rate fell by three-tenths of a percentage point in Dec. 2021 to 5.4%.
During the same time, the nationwide unemployment rate also fell three-tenths of a percentage point to 3.9%
The estimated number of the Pennsylvanian labor force looking for work also decreased by 18,000 people throughout the span of December, according to the press release.
Over the whole year, Pa.'s unemployment rate was 1.7 percentage points below its December 2020 level. The national rate was down 2.8 points.
Non-farm jobs were also up 14,300 over the month to 5,804,600 in December, according to the press release.
Jobs increased in eight of the 11 industry supersectors. Trade, transportation, and utilities made up the largest share of the December gain, which increased by 9,4000. Leisure and hospitality jobs were boosted by 3,300.
Professional and business services were also down 4,100 from November, the press release stated.
Over the course of 2021, total non-farm jobs were up 202,200 with gains in 10 of the 11 supersectors. The leisure and hospitality sector had the largest gain over the year, adding 80,400 jobs back.
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