Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Rate Down to 4.3 Percent in June

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Commonwealth Jobs Set Record High for 15th Consecutive Month

Harrisburg, PA – Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released its employment situation report for June 2018.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate declined two-tenths of a percentage point from May to 4.3 percent, the lowest rate in 11 years (June 2007). The commonwealth’s rate remained above the U.S. rate, which rose by two-tenths of a percentage point to 4.0 percent. Over the year, the Pennsylvania unemployment rate declined by one-half of a percentage point.

The estimated number of Pennsylvania residents working or looking for work, known as the civilian labor force, was essentially unchanged in June at 6,363,000, as a drop in unemployment over the month was matched by a gain in employment. Over the year, the civilian labor force was down by 61,000 due to declines in both employment and unemployment.

The estimated number of jobs in Pennsylvania, referred to as total nonfarm jobs, was up 4,000 from May to a record high of 6,016,900. Highlights from this month’s jobs report include:

· 15th consecutive month jobs established a record high level

· Jobs were up in six of the 11 industry supersectors

· Leisure & hospitality experienced the largest supersector gain, up 3,600 in June

Total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 1.3 percent from June 2017. During this timeframe, nine supersectors in the commonwealth added jobs with increases ranging from 33,600 in education & health services to 2,000 in mining & logging. Nationally, jobs were up 1.6 percent over the year.

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.

MEDIA CONTACT: Penny Ickes, 717-787-7530 or dlipress@pa.gov

Editor’s Note: A breakdown of Pennsylvania’s employment statistics follows.

Current Labor Force Statistics
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)
				Change from		Change from
	June	May	June	May 2018		June 2017
	2018	2018	2017	volume	percent	volume	percent
PA
Civilian Labor Force	6,363	6,364	6,424	-1	0.0%	-61	-0.9%
Employment	6,088	6,080	6,115	8	0.1%	-27	-0.4%
Unemployment	275	283	309	-8	-2.8%	-34	-11.0%
Rate	4.3	4.5	4.8	-0.2	—-	-0.5	—-

U.S.
Civilian Labor Force	162,140	161,539	160,214	601	0.4%	1,926	1.2%
Employment	155,576	155,474	153,250	102	0.1%	2,326	1.5%
Unemployment	6,564	6,065	6,964	499	8.2%	-400	-5.7%
Rate	4.0	3.8	4.3	0.2	—-	-0.3	—-


Note: July 2018 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released August 23,2018.

Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment
Seasonally Adjusted
(in thousands)
				Change from		Change from
	June	May	June	May 2018		June 2017
	2018	2018	2017	volume	percent	volume	percent

Total Nonfarm Jobs	6,016.9	6,012.9	5,939.4	4.0	0.1%	77.5	1.3%

Goods Producing Industries	850.4	849.3	837.8	1.1	0.1%	12.6	1.5%
Mining & Logging	28.6	28.7	26.6	-0.1	-0.3%	2.0	7.5%
Construction	253.2	255.1	249.8	-1.9	-0.7%	3.4	1.4%
Manufacturing	568.6	565.5	561.4	3.1	0.5%	7.2	1.3%

Service Providing Industries	5,166.5	5,163.6	5,101.6	2.9	0.1%	64.9	1.3%
Trade, Transportation & Utilities	1,131.1	1,129.6	1,125.3	1.5	0.1%	5.8	0.5%
Information	80.1	80.4	84.0	-0.3	-0.4%	-3.9	-4.6%
Financial Activities	325.3	324.9	321.2	0.4	0.1%	4.1	1.3%
Professional & Business Services	812.1	815.8	799.9	-3.7	-0.5%	12.2	1.5%
Education & Health Services	1,274.5	1,273.4	1,240.9	1.1	0.1%	33.6	2.7%
Leisure & Hospitality	576.8	573.2	565.7	3.6	0.6%	11.1	2.0%
Other Services	265.1	264.1	261.2	1.0	0.4%	3.9	1.5%
Government	701.5	702.2	703.4	-0.7	-0.1%	-1.9	-0.3%


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: July 2018 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released August 23,2018.