HARRISBURG, Pa. — On Friday, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released its employment situation report for March 2018.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate remained at 4.8 percent in March. The rate has been 4.8 percent for ten consecutive months. The commonwealth’s rate stayed above the U.S. rate of 4.1 percent, which was also unchanged from February. Since March 2017, the Pennsylvania unemployment rate declined by two-tenths of a percentage point.
The estimated number of Pennsylvania residents working or looking for work, known as the civilian labor force, was down 18,000 over the month to 6,393,000 because of declines in both employment and unemployment. Resident employment and unemployment were also each down over the past twelve months, by 26,000 and 20,000, respectively.
The estimated number of jobs in Pennsylvania, referred to as total nonfarm jobs, was up 2,700 from February to a record high of 6,004,600. This was the twelfth record high in a row. Jobs were up in seven of the 11 industry supersectors. For the second month in a row, education & health services experienced the largest gain. Education & health services and professional & business services both reached new record highs in March.
Since March 2017, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 1.4 percent. During this same timeframe, nine supersectors in the commonwealth added jobs. The largest volume increase over the past 12 months was in education & health services, up 35,000, while the largest drop was in government, down 2,400.
Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
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) |
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Change from |
Change from |
|
March |
February |
March |
February 2018 |
March 2017 |
|
2018 |
2018 |
2017 |
volume |
percent |
volume |
percent |
PA |
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Civilian Labor Force |
6,393 |
6,411 |
6,440 |
-18 |
-0.3% |
-47 |
-0.7% |
Employment |
6,089 |
6,101 |
6,115 |
-12 |
-0.2% |
-26 |
-0.4% |
Unemployment |
304 |
310 |
324 |
-6 |
-1.9% |
-20 |
-6.2% |
Rate |
4.8 |
4.8 |
5.0 |
0.0 |
—- |
-0.2 |
—- |
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U.S. |
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|
Civilian Labor Force |
161,763 |
161,921 |
160,235 |
-158 |
-0.1% |
1,528 |
1.0% |
Employment |
155,178 |
155,215 |
153,064 |
-37 |
0.0%0.0% |
2,114 |
1.4% |
Unemployment |
6,585 |
6,706 |
7,171 |
-121 |
-1.8% |
-586 |
-8.2% |
Rate |
4.1 |
4.1 |
4.5 |
0.0 |
—- |
-0.4 |
—- |
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Note: April 2018 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released May 18,2018. |
Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment |
Seasonally Adjusted |
(in thousands) |
|
|
|
|
Change from |
Change from |
|
March |
February |
March |
February 2018 |
March 2017 |
|
2018 |
2018 |
2017 |
volume |
percent |
volume |
percent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Nonfarm Jobs |
6,004.6 |
6,001.9 |
5,920.6 |
2.7 |
0.0% |
84.0 |
1.4% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Goods Producing Industries |
847.6 |
848.6 |
828.8 |
-1.0 |
-0.1% |
18.8 |
2.3% |
Mining & Logging |
27.2 |
27.4 |
25.5 |
-0.2 |
-0.7% |
1.7 |
6.7% |
Construction |
256.0 |
255.8 |
242.4 |
0.2 |
0.1% |
13.6 |
5.6% |
Manufacturing |
564.4 |
565.4 |
560.9 |
-1.0 |
-0.2% |
3.5 |
0.6% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Service Providing Industries |
5,157.0 |
5,153.3 |
5,091.8 |
3.7 |
0.1% |
65.2 |
1.3% |
Trade, Transportation & Utilities |
1,129.5 |
1,128.9 |
1,125.3 |
0.6 |
0.1% |
4.2 |
0.4% |
Information |
82.1 |
81.9 |
83.7 |
0.2 |
0.2% |
-1.6 |
-1.9% |
Financial Activities |
322.7 |
323.9 |
320.3 |
-1.2 |
-0.4% |
2.4 |
0.7% |
Professional & Business Services |
811.0 |
810.7 |
797.4 |
0.3 |
0.0% |
13.6 |
1.7% |
Education & Health Services |
1,272.3 |
1,269.6 |
1,237.3 |
2.7 |
0.2% |
35.0 |
2.8% |
Leisure & Hospitality |
576.1 |
576.5 |
564.4 |
-0.4 |
-0.1% |
11.7 |
2.1% |
Other Services |
262.7 |
262.0 |
260.4 |
0.7 |
0.3% |
2.3 |
0.9% |
Government |
700.6 |
699.8 |
703.0 |
0.8 |
0.1% |
-2.4 |
-0.3% |
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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.workstats.dli.pa.gov |
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Note: April 2018 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released May 18,2018. |