PA Department of Labor & Industry Releases Unemployment Report

| January 21, 2017

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its employment report on Friday for December 2016.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was down one-tenth of a percentage point from November to 5.6 percent.

Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force was down 19,000 over the month to 6,510,000.

Resident employment decreased by 12,000 and the unemployment count declined by 7,000.

Total nonfarm jobs were down 1,200 to 5,900,100 in December. Seven of the eleven supersectors had drops. The largest volume movement was in professional and business services (-6,200), which declined from a record high in November.

There are other telling numbers when considering the unemployment rate.

The U-3 rate is defined as the “total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force,” but doesn’t include a number of employment situations.

A broader figure is the U-6 rate, which many economists rely on as a more accurate portrayal of employment in the country.

The U-6 rate is defined as all unemployed as well as “persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the labor force.”

That means the unemployed, the underemployed and the discouraged.

The most current available statistics, from the fourth quarter of 2015 through the third quarter of 2016, show a U-3 rate of 5.3 and a U-6 rate of 10.5.

Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 32,000 (+0.5%).

Seven supersectors added jobs from last December.

The largest increase over the past 12 months was in education & health services (+23,500), while the largest decline was in mining & logging (-7,600).


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Category: Local News, News, State News