Pennsylvania’s 4.1 Percent Unemployment Rate Unchanged in October

| November 17, 2018

HARRISBURG, Pa. – On Friday, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released its employment situation report for October 2018.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate of 4.1 percent was unchanged from September and remained the lowest rate since July 2000. The Pennsylvania unemployment rate declined by seven-tenths of a percentage point from October 2017.

The estimated number of Pennsylvania residents working or looking for work, known as the civilian labor force, was up 23,000 over the month. The number of employed Pennsylvanians rose by 21,000 to a record high of 6,155,000. The number of unemployed residents was up 3,000 from September, but down 44,000 from last October.

The estimated number of jobs in Pennsylvania, referred to as total nonfarm jobs, also reached an all-time high of 6,063,400 in October, up 18,500. Highlights from this month’s jobs report include:

·       Jobs increased in eight of the 11 industry supersectors over the month

·       Professional & business services and education & health services jobs rose to record highs

·       Education & health services had the largest monthly gain, up 5,900

Over the past 12 months, jobs increased 1.5 percent in the commonwealth with gains in nine of the 11 supersectors. Education & health services had the largest volume 12-month gain. Nationally, jobs were up 1.7 percent during this timeframe.

Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following us on FacebookTwitter, 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)

Change from Change from
October September October September 2018 October 2017
2018 2018 2017 volume percent volume percent
PA
Civilian Labor Force 6,420 6,397 6,418 23 0.4% 2 0.0%
Employment 6,155 6,134 6,109 21 0.3% 46 0.8%
Unemployment 265 262 309 3 1.1% -44 -14.2%
Rate 4.1 4.1 4.8 0.0 —- -0.7 —-
U.S.
Civilian Labor Force 162,637 161,926 160,371 711 0.4% 2,266 1.4%
Employment 156,562 155,962 153,846 600 0.4% 2,716 1.8%
Unemployment 6,075 5,964 6,524 111 1.9% -449 -6.9%
Rate 3.7 3.7 4.1 0.0 —- -0.4 —-

Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment

 

Seasonally Adjusted

(in tho​usands)

Change from Change from
October September October September 2018 October 2017
2018 2018 2017 volume percent volume percent
Total Nonfarm Jobs 6,063.4 6,044.9 5,971.1 18.5 0.3% 92.3 1.5%
Goods Producing Industries 855.7 850.3 838.8 5.4 0.6% 16.9 2.0%
  Mining & Logging 30.0 29.5 27.4 0.5 1.7% 2.6 9.5%
  Construction 256.6 254.7 250.3 1.9 0.7% 6.3 2.5%
  Manufacturing 569.1 566.1 561.1 3.0 0.5% 8.0 1.4%
Service Providing Industries 5,207.7 5,194.6 5,132.3 13.1 0.3% 75.4 1.5%
  Trade, Transportation & Utilities 1,130.7 1,130.2 1,127.3 0.5 0.0% 3.4 0.3%
  Information 79.9 80.4 81.2 -0.5 -0.6% -1.3 -1.6%
  Financial Activities 326.8 325.4 321.5 1.4 0.4% 5.3 1.6%
  Professional & Business Services 831.2 826.2 807.1 5.0 0.6% 24.1 3.0%
  Education & Health Services 1,292.9 1,287.0 1,263.1 5.9 0.5% 29.8 2.4%
  Leisure & Hospitality 580.4 578.1 568.0 2.3 0.4% 12.4 2.2%
  Other Services 263.6 264.6 261.9 -1.0 -0.4% 1.7 0.6%
  Government 702.2 702.7 702.2 -0.5 -0.1% 0.0 0.0%



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.

Note: November 2018 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released December 21, 2018.


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