Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 4.7 Percent in April

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Commonwealth Sets Jobs Record for Thirteenth Consecutive Month

Harrisburg, PA – Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released its employment situation report for April 2018. As unemployment declined, the number of jobs in the commonwealth reached a record high for the thirteenth consecutive month.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate declined one-tenth of a percentage point from March to 4.7 percent. This was the first decrease in the rate after 10 consecutive months at 4.8 percent. The commonwealth’s rate remained above the U.S. rate, which fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.9 percent in April. Since April 2017, the Pennsylvania unemployment rate declined by two-tenths of a percentage point.

The estimated number of Pennsylvania residents working or looking for work, known as the civilian labor force, was down 16,000 over the month to 6,378,000 as both components (employment and unemployment) declined. Resident employment and unemployment were also each down over the past twelve months, by 36,000 and 21,000, respectively.

The estimated number of jobs in Pennsylvania, referred to as total nonfarm jobs, was up 9,100 from March to a record high of 6,015,300. Highlights from this month’s jobs report include:

· Thirteenth consecutive record month

· Jobs were up in six of the 11 industry supersectors

· Record levels of jobs in professional & business services, education & health services, and other services

· Professional & business services experienced the largest gain in April, up 5,100

Since April 2017, total nonfarm jobs in Pennsylvania were up 1.4 percent. During this same timeframe, nine supersectors in the commonwealth added jobs with increases ranging from 2,200 in mining & logging to 37,800 in education & health 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

April

March

April

March 2018

April 2017

2018

2017

volume

percent

volume

percent

Civilian Labor Force

6,378

6,394

6,435

-16

-0.3%

-57

-0.9%

Employment

6,081

6,089

6,117

-8

-0.1%

-36

-0.6%

Unemployment

297

304

318

-7

-2.3%

-21

-6.6%

Rate

4.7

4.8

4.9

-0.1

—-

-0.2

—-

U.S.

Civilian Labor Force

161,527

161,763

160,181

-236

-0.1%

1,346

0.8%

Employment

155,181

155,178

153,161

0.0%

2,020

1.3%

Unemployment

6,346

6,585

7,021

-239

-3.6%

-675

-9.6%

Rate

3.9

4.1

4.4

-0.2

—-

-0.5

—-

Pennsylvania Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment

Seasonally Adjusted

(in thousands)

				Change from		Change from
	April	March	April	March 2018		April 2017
	2018	2018	2017	volume	percent	volume	percent

Total Nonfarm Jobs	6,015.3	6,006.2	5,931.7	9.1	0.2%	83.6	1.4%

Goods Producing Industries	848.7	848.5	833.1	0.2	0.0%	15.6	1.9%
Mining & Logging	28.1	27.8	25.9	0.3	1.1%	2.2	8.5%
Construction	255.2	255.9	245.2	-0.7	-0.3%	10.0	4.1%
Manufacturing	565.4	564.8	562.0	0.6	0.1%	3.4	0.6%

Service Providing Industries	5,166.6	5,157.7	5,098.6	8.9	0.2%	68.0	1.3%
Trade, Transportation & Utilities	1,130.7	1,130.6	1,127.3	0.1	0.0%	3.4	0.3%
Information	81.6	81.8	83.5	-0.2	-0.2%	-1.9	-2.3%
Financial Activities	322.8	322.9	320.5	-0.1	0.0%	2.3	0.7%
Professional & Business Services	815.7	810.6	799.1	5.1	0.6%	16.6	2.1%
Education & Health Services	1,276.0	1,273.6	1,238.2	2.4	0.2%	37.8	3.1%
Leisure & Hospitality	573.3	573.7	566.1	-0.4	-0.1%	7.2	1.3%
Other Services	266.0	263.6	261.2	2.4	0.9%	4.8	1.8%
Government	700.5	700.9	702.7	-0.4	-0.1%	-2.2	-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: May 2018 labor force and nonfarm jobs statistics will be released June 15,2018.