PA Unemployment Rate 4.9% in March

HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry yesterday released its employment situation report for March 2016.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was up three-tenths of a percentage point from February to 4.9 percent. Pennsylvania’s rate remained below that of the United States, which was up one-tenth of a percentage point to 5.0 percent. The commonwealth’s rate was down four-tenths of a percentage point since March 2015 while the national rate declined by five-tenths of a percentage point over the year.

Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force was up 30,000 in March to 6,501,000, a record high. Resident employment rose by 14,000 while the unemployment count increased by 17,000.

Total nonfarm jobs increased 15,300 to a record high of 5,891,700 in March. Seven of the eleven supersectors added jobs, with four up by at least 3,000 from February. The largest gain was in construction (+6,000), while the largest drop was in manufacturing (-800).

Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 81,000 (+1.4%). All eight service-providing supersectors added jobs from March 2015, while two of the three goods-producing supersectors declined. The largest increase from last year was in education & health services (+24,600), while the largest decline was in mining & logging (-8,900).

Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.

A breakdown of Pennsylvania’s employment statistics follows.

Current Labor Force Statistics
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)

Change fromFebruary 2016 Change from

 

March 2015

March February March
2016 2016 2015 volume percent volume percent
PA 
Civilian Labor Force 6,501 6,471 6,418 30 0.5% 83 1.3%
Employment 6,185 6,171 6,078 14 0.2% 107 1.8%
Unemployment 317 300 340 17 5.7% -23 -6.8%
Rate 4.9 4.6 5.3 0.3 —- -0.4 —-
U.S.     
Civilian Labor Force 159,286 158,890 156,890 396 0.2% 2,396 1.5%
Employment 151,320 151,074 148,333 246 0.2% 2,987 2.0%
Unemployment 7,966 7,815 8,557 151 1.9% -591 -6.9%
Rate  5.0 4.9 5.5 0.1 —- -0.5 —-

Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)

Change fromFebruary 2016 Change from

 

March 2015

March February March
2016 2016 2015 volume percent volume percent
Total Nonfarm Jobs 5,891.7 5,876.4 5,810.7 15.3 0.3% 81.0 1.4%
Goods Producing Industries 827.0 822.4 834.6 4.6 0.6% -7.6 -0.9%
  Mining & Logging 27.8 28.4 36.7 -0.6 -2.1% -8.9 -24.3%
  Construction 234.3 228.3 228.3 6.0 2.6% 6.0 2.6%
  Manufacturing 564.9 565.7 569.6 -0.8 -0.1% -4.7 -0.8%
Service Providing Industries 5,064.7 5,054.0 4,976.1 10.7 0.2% 88.6 1.8%
  Trade, Transportation & Utilities 1,136.2 1,132.4 1,117.9 3.8 0.3% 18.3 1.6%
  Information 85.6 85.8 85.0 -0.2 -0.2% 0.6 0.7%
  Financial Activities 320.1 319.9 315.6 0.2 0.1% 4.5 1.4%
  Professional & Business Services 784.5 784.9 772.1 -0.4 -0.1% 12.4 1.6%
  Education & Health Services 1,210.2 1,206.8 1,185.6 3.4 0.3% 24.6 2.1%
  Leisure & Hospitality 562.2 559.2 540.5 3.0 0.5% 21.7 4.0%
  Other Services 260.5 260.0 255.0 0.5 0.2% 5.5 2.2%
  Government 705.4 705.0 704.4 0.4 0.1% 1.0 0.1%

For a more detailed breakdown of seasonally adjusted jobs data at the sector level, please contact the Center for Workforce Information & Analysis at 1-877-4WF-DATA, or visit www.paworkstats.pa.gov

Note: April 2016 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released May 20, 2016.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry


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