Pennsylvania is experiencing a slightly different employment situation than much of the country. According to a report from the Associated Press, Pennsylvania payrolls added 6,500 jobs in December, which gives the Keystone State around 5.7 million jobs. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the unemployment rate in Pennsylvania sits at 7.6 percent, which is a drop from the 7.9 percent reported in November. According to the Gainesville Sun, the unemployment rate for the United States was 8.5 percent in December.
Where does Pennsylvania rank among states as far as unemployment rates go?
According to the Pittsburgh Business Times, Pennsylvania's unemployment rate has been below the national average for 62 consecutive months, and the Keystone State ranks in the top half of the lower unemployment rates in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
Why did the unemployment drop?
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report, a few factors contributed to the unemployment rate falling to 7.6 percent: people finding work and folks who gave up looking for work. According to the Pennsylvania Depart of Labor & Industry, goods producing industries were responsible for the majority of the increase adding 6,200 jobs. The report also puts construction as the largest increase with 3,000 jobs, but also recognizes the mining and logging industry for attaining an increase for the sixth consecutive month. The report also mentions the number of people looking for work fell by 2,000.
Is Pennsylvania trending in the right direction?
The unemployment in Pennsylvania dipped for the third consecutive month, as reported by the Associated Press. As the report also states the 5.7 million jobs present in the state are less than the peak of 5.8 million in 2008; however, the current rate is much lower than the recession high of 8.8 percent. The report from the AP also states that Pennsylvania's unemployment rate had improved to 7.4 percent in May of 2011. Since the state is nearly a full point below the national average, the Keystone State is heading in the right direction, at least for now.
Do government jobs make up a large portion of Pennsylvania's workforce?
The government added 1,000 jobs in the time period, but also had the biggest overall yearly drop in all the sectors measured, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In addition, the article mentions the reduction in the number of government jobs at 19,800, which represents 2.6 percent of the federal, state, and local government and public education workforce.
Jason Gallagher is a long-time Pennsylvania resident. He has experiences in trends and developments in many regions from having lived in many parts of the Keystone State, and currently resides in the Pittsburgh Area.
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