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Harrisburg, PA – Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released its employment situation report for January 2020.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was up one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to 4.7 percent in January. The national rate was also up a tenth from December to 3.6 percent. The commonwealth’s unemployment rate increased by six-tenths of a percentage point from January 2019 while the national rate was down four-tenths of a percentage point over the year.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – the estimated number of residents working or looking for work – was up 11,000 over the month to a record high of 6,549,000 due to gains in both employment and unemployment.
Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs rose 13,500 from December to a record high of 6,093,000. Jobs were up in seven of the 11 industry supersectors. The largest volume supersector gain was in construction, which rose to match the record high set in January 2007. Although no other supersectors were at record highs in January, three others were at record high levels in November 2019 – professional & business services, education & health services, and leisure & hospitality.
Over the year, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 40,400 with gains in seven of the 11 supersectors. The largest volume 12-month change among supersectors was an increase of 17,600 jobs in education & health services.
Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison.
Because the data included in each month’s press release (primarily civilian labor force and nonfarm jobs data) are sample based, the data are subject to revisions. Once each year, estimates are adjusted to new levels based on additional or revised information collected after the initial release of the data (called a benchmark). Additionally, seasonal adjustment factors for historical labor force and nonfarm jobs data are updated each year. Revisions to the civilian labor force and nonfarm jobs series through 2019 have been completed and are reflected in this January news release. For a complete set of benchmarked data, please contact the Center for Workforce Information & Analysis at 1-877-4WF-DATA, or visit www.workstats.dli.pa.gov.
Editor’s Note: A breakdown of Pennsylvania’s employment statistics follows.
Note: February 2020 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released March 20, 2020.
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