Pa. jobless rate sets record low; nonfarm jobs at record high
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate remained at a record low level in May, while the number of nonfarm jobs rose to a record high, the state said Friday.
The jobless rate remained at 3.8%, the same as in April and the lowest since records were kept dating back to 1976. The unemployment rate is 0.5 percentage point lower than May of last year, the Department of Labor and Industry said. Those jobless rate figures are adjusted for seasonal hiring factors.
By comparison, the national unemployment rate was at 3.6 percent for May, down 0.2 percentage point from a year ago.
The number of nonfarm jobs rose by about 100 in May to 6,051,400, the sixth consecutive month of job increases. That is also the sixth consecutive month for a record high level of jobs. That’s 54,900 more jobs than the May 2018 total of 5.99 million nonfarm jobs.
There were 6.22 million Pennsylvania residents with jobs in May, up 90,000 from May 2018, the state said.
The civilian labor force — those working or looking — remained the same in May as in April: 6,471,000, but it was up about 65,000 as more people entered the job market.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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