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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