Pa. unemployment rate for September reaches record low
For the second straight month, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate ranks lower than the national rate, the commonwealth reaching a record low of 3.4%.
The date was provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I), which released on Friday its preliminary employment report for September.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped one-tenth of a percentage point in September, a record low dating to January 1976. The national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.8%.
Compared to September 2022, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 0.9 percentage points lower than its 4.3% last year at this time, while the national rate was higher by three-tenths of a percentage point.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force, which constitutes the estimated number of residents working or looking for work, declined by 2,000 over the month. Resident employment rose by 2,000 and unemployment fell by 4,000 from August.
For the ninth consecutive month, Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs increased by 8,300 in September to a record high of 6,171,600. August saw jobs increase in eight of the 11 industry supersectors, the largest gain being in education and health services where the plus-6,100 represents a record high. Three other supersectors also reached record highs in September.
Total nonfarm jobs for the year are up 148,700, with gains in all 11 supersectors. The largest volume over-the-year gain among supersectors is the 54,900 in education and health services.