The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its unemployment situation report for October.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was down 1 percentage point over the month to 7.3 percent in October. The national rate also fell 1 percentage point from its September level to 6.9 percent. The commonwealth’s unemployment rate was 2.7 percentage points above the October 2019 level, while the national rate was up 3.3 points over the year.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force decreased 75,000 over the month due to declines in both employment (the number of residents working) and unemployment (those who are jobless and looking for work).
Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were up 18,800 over the month to 5,622,100 in October. Jobs increased in eight of the 11 supersectors. The largest monthly volume gain was in trade, transportation and utilities, up 7,300 jobs.
Over the past six months, Pennsylvania has recovered 56.3 percent of the total nonfarm jobs lost in March and April. Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were down 455,900 (-7.5 percent) with declines in 10 of the 11 supersectors. The largest 12-month change among supersectors was a decline of 142,200 jobs in leisure and hospitality.
Additional information is available at dli.pa.gov
