Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 4.5 Percent in May

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Commonwealth Sets Jobs Record for Fourteenth Consecutive Month

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

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate declined two-tenths of a percentage point from April to 4.5 percent, the lowest rate since September 2007. This was the second monthly decrease in the rate after 10 consecutive months at 4.8 percent. The commonwealth’s rate remained above the U.S. rate, which fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.8 percent. Over the year, the Pennsylvania unemployment rate declined by four-tenths of a percentage point.

The estimated number of Pennsylvania residents working or looking for work, known as the civilian labor force, was down 14,000 in May to 6,364,000. The labor force decline was due to a drop in unemployment, while resident employment was up slightly over the month. Employment and unemployment both declined since last May, by 8,000 and 21,000, respectively.

The estimated number of jobs in Pennsylvania, referred to as total nonfarm jobs, was up 2,300 from April to a record high of 6,014,400. Highlights from this month’s jobs report include:

· Fourteenth consecutive month jobs established a record high level

· Jobs were up in seven of the 11 industry supersectors

· Professional & business services set a record high for the ninth time in the past 10 months

· Construction experienced the largest supersector gain, up 1,900 in May

· Education & health services had the largest decline, down 1,900 from April’s record high

Since May 2017, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 1.3 percent. During this timeframe, nine supersectors in the commonwealth added jobs with increases ranging from 31,700 in education & health services to 2,000 in other services.

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
	May	April	May	April 2018		May 2017
	2018	2018	2017	volume	percent	volume	percent
PA
Civilian Labor Force	6,364	6,378	6,429	-14	-0.2%	-65	-1.0%
Employment	6,081	6,080	6,116	1	0.0%	-35	-0.6%
Unemployment	283	298	313	-15	-5.0%	-30	-9.6%
Rate	4.5	4.7	4.9	-0.2	—-	-0.4	—-

U.S.
Civilian Labor Force	161,539	161,527	159,729	12	0.0%	1,810	1.1%
Employment	155,474	155,181	152,892	293	0.2%	2,582	1.7%
Unemployment	6,065	6,346	6,837	-281	-4.4%	-772	-11.3%
Rate	3.8	3.9	4.3	-0.1	—-	-0.5	—-


Note: June 2018 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released July 20, 2018.

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

Total Nonfarm Jobs	6,014.4	6,012.1	5,936.2	2.3	0.0%	78.2	1.3%

Goods Producing Industries	851.7	849.1	836.4	2.6	0.3%	15.3	1.8%
Mining & Logging	28.7	28.3	26.3	0.4	1.4%	2.4	9.1%
Construction	258.1	256.2	248.8	1.9	0.7%	9.3	3.7%
Manufacturing	564.9	564.6	561.3	0.3	0.1%	3.6	0.6%

Service Providing Industries	5,162.7	5,163.0	5,099.8	-0.3	0.0%	62.9	1.2%
Trade, Transportation & Utilities	1,131.0	1,129.2	1,124.4	1.8	0.2%	6.6	0.6%
Information	80.7	81.1	83.7	-0.4	-0.5%	-3.0	-3.6%
Financial Activities	324.7	323.6	320.8	1.1	0.3%	3.9	1.2%
Professional & Business Services	816.4	815.2	800.1	1.2	0.1%	16.3	2.0%
Education & Health Services	1,273.7	1,275.6	1,242.0	-1.9	-0.1%	31.7	2.6%
Leisure & Hospitality	574.4	573.3	563.3	1.1	0.2%	11.1	2.0%
Other Services	263.5	265.2	261.5	-1.7	-0.6%	2.0	0.8%
Government	698.3	699.8	704.0	-1.5	-0.2%	-5.7	-0.8%


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: June 2018 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released July 20, 2018.